A sparkling showcase with plenty to offer both art lovers and dinophiles.
A surrealistic vision of the Cretaceous Era, with visual puzzles for intrepid explorers to solve and surprises hidden under flaps.
Printed on creamy stock and linked by a tenuous plotline—a young woman named Dongdong, a student at a Beijing art school, receives a mysterious album from the past and falls in—the 10 gamelike “Adventures” challenge viewers on a variety of fronts. First they must traverse a thick “Forest of Illusion” and a difficult maze, then spot a cleverly hidden pterosaur in a canyon packed with dinos before moving on to other challenges, and finally escape a dark cave (printed on acetate sheets) with the help of a detachable “flashlight.” Along with depicting dozens of realistically detailed dinosaurs, Dong takes several side ventures into free-association territory, as in one spread with 18 different “eggs” whose contents, revealed by lifting flaps, range from fanciful monsters to dino-themed clouds, carvings, and pastries. Following two more pages of “egg” flaps at the end that pay droll stylistic tribute to René Magritte, Salvador Dali, Damien Hirst, Yayoi Kusama, and other modern artists, an attached booklet offers subtle visual keys to each Adventure.
A sparkling showcase with plenty to offer both art lovers and dinophiles. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-945295-00-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candied Plums
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
A wacky tale jam-packed with prehistoric hijinks and weird science.
Ari’s odorous T-shirt comes in handy on an unexpected trip to the Cretaceous Period.
New in town, Ari hasn’t made a single friend, though next-door neighbor Mr. Jakes’ frequent visits indicate his interest in Ari’s mom, an inventor who’s been deemed a “mad scientist” for her unusual experiments. Ari takes all this in stride, mostly. Mom’s latest project is a time portal that will allow her and Ari to retrieve piles of clean clothes from “the last time we washed, dried, and folded our laundry.” It’s a necessary creation; Ari’s been wearing a T-shirt that started to smell “four and one quarter days ago,” according to TED, Mom’s snarky, ice cube–size supercomputer. They decide to travel six weeks back in time, but when the portal overshoots their goal, Ari, Mom, TED, and Ari’s pet turtle, Fred, find themselves 60 million years in the past. Fred nearly becomes prey to a Tyrannosaurus, but fortunately the funk from Ari’s shirt is enough to scare off even a ferocious dinosaur. And, just maybe, there’s a better solution to the laundry problem—one that might bring Mom and Mr. Jakes a bit closer. The fast-moving story is filled with wild antics. Ari’s affection for Mom comes through clearly and humorously, and the book sets up the possibility of future mishaps. Goofy cartoons match the energy of the lighthearted adventures; characters have skin the white of the page.
A wacky tale jam-packed with prehistoric hijinks and weird science. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781665942973
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Adventures and misadventures, Old West style—but with dinos.
Young Josh needs to up his ride if he’s going to win the Trihorn settlement’s 100th-anniversary Founders’ Day race and meet his hero, Terrordactyl Bill.
Set on the Lost Plains, where ranchers tend to herds of iguanodons, and horses (if there were any) would be easy pickings for the local predators, this series kickoff pits a brash lad and sidekick and schoolmates Sam and Abi against not only the requisite bully, but such fiercer adversaries as attacking pterodactyls. Josh’s first challenge after eagerly entering the race is finding a faster, nimbler steed than his steady but old gallimimus, Plodder. Along comes Charge—an aptly named, if not-quite-fully-trained triceratops with speed, brains, and, it turns out, a streak of loyalty that saves Josh’s bacon both here and in a simultaneously publishing sequel, How To Rope a Giganotosaurus, which prominently features T. Rex’s much larger cousin. Dare adds a map, as well as spot illustrations of rural Western types (Josh and Abi are white, Sam has dark skin and tightly curled hair) astride toothy, brightly patterned dinos. In both adventures Josh weathers regular encounters with dinosaur dung, snot, and gas as well as threats to life and limb to show up the aforementioned bully and emerge a hero.
Adventures and misadventures, Old West style—but with dinos. (Fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4668-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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