In this comical emergent reader, a half-dozen eggs that are past their sell-by date provide a big surprise when they hatch into baby dinosaurs.
The unnamed narrator of the story notices the eggs moving in their carton, and soon they’ve hatched into tiny dinosaurs that the boy’s mother mistakes for toys. The boy hides the six prehistoric reptiles, all different types, in his room for a while, with some funny results as he strives to keep his parents out of his room: “Don’t come in! I’m naked!” he lies. In fairy-tale fashion, the dinosaurs grow to full size rapidly, eventually bursting through the roof of the family home. The boy’s parents are surprised at this development but receptive to their new pets, and the dinosaurs are welcomed into the neighborhood. Watercolor illustrations with pen-and-ink outlines depict smiling dinosaurs with bulging eyes and mottled skin colors. The dinosaurs are all a friendly bunch, giving rides to the neighbor kids and a fast mode of aerial transportation for the boy’s mom to get to work. Though the story isn’t particularly inventive, the enduring popularity of dinosaurs reappearing in the modern age will make this a useful addition to collections for new readers in libraries and classrooms.
An intriguing cover, attractive, action-filled illustrations, and an amusing story add up to a beginning reader with solid appeal. (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3196-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S DINOSAURS & PREHISTORIC CREATURES
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Parting—of the temporary rather than permanent kind—is the latest topic to be dino-sorted in this venerable series’ 14th outing.
Nobody dies and the series is showing no signs of flagging, so reading anything ominous into the title is overthinking it. Instead, Teague and Yolen once again treat readers to a succession of outsized, gaily patterned dinosaurs throwing tantrums or acting out, this time as dad packs up for a business trip or even just sets off to work, grandparents pause at the door for goodbyes, mom drops her offspring off at school on a first day, parents take a date night, or a moving van pulls up to the house. Per series formula, the tone switches partway through when bad behavior gives way to (suggested) better: “They tell all the grown-ups / just how they are feeling. / It helps right away / for fast dinosaur healing.” Hugs, kisses, and a paper heart might also be more constructive responses than weeping, clinging, and making mayhem. Dinosaurian pronouns mostly alternate between he and she until switching to the generic their in the last part. In the art, the human cast mixes figures with different racial presentations and the date-night parents are an interracial couple, but there is no evident sign of same-gender or other nonnormative domestic situations.
Tried and true, both in content and formula. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-36335-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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In lunchbox-style packaging, a booklet of dino facts and a prehistoric panorama are presented on both a folded poster and a jigsaw puzzle.
Strother devotes 10 of her 32 pages to ornithischian, or bird-hipped, dinosaurs (correctly noting that they are not the ancestors of modern birds). She also manages to survey the Mesozoic Era in general, introduce a few theropods, describe fossilization, and present up-to-date information about dinosaur colors and extinction theories. All of this is crammed onto thematic spreads with small paintings and photos of fossils or generic images of fleshed-out reconstructions in minimally detailed settings. Francis contributes a collective portrait of dinosaurs of diverse size and period posing together over a labeled timeline. This can be hung up and, as a 130-piece jigsaw, assembled. Also available from the same author and illustrator, and likewise in a round-corned box with a carrying handle and snap close, is Oceans, a densely populated dive into the deep.
Gift items for confirmed young enthusiasts, with a substantial but not wearisome informational load. (Informational novelty. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62686-145-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Dolphin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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