School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Princess Dinosaur, a toothy, potbellied, green-skinned figure in a billowing red skirt, is the leader of the toys. She ambushes the plastic cowboys and Indians, sips tea with a doll, runs the wooden train, and reads a story to the smaller toys. Then a vicious-looking Dalmatian (a real one) with a spiked collar leaps into the room, seizes the princess, and buries her in the backyard. Luckily she digs herself out and hangs on to the dog's tail as he chases a squirrel; when he hears his dinner being opened, Princess Dinosaur slips back upstairs to safety while he is eating. The influence of Disney's Toy Story films is pervasive. The big, splashy, bright double-page spreads in pen and ink and watercolor are fun-filled and lively. An action-packed fantasy adventure.-Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
With a crown perched on her head and a billowing skirt hiked up to just below her belly button, the neon green title character of Kastner's (Barnyard Big Top) quirky caper cuts quite the droll figure. The antics of this animated toy dino and her toy-chest compatriots lend themselves to some diverting visual scenarios. While playing with cowboy and Indian figurines, she "accidentally takes a bite out of Cowboy Gus's hat. Blue Feather's bow is bent, too"; during a tea party with a doll properly attired in a straw hat, the heroine prefers to tip the teapot into her enormous mouth rather than drink from a teacup. But the fun ends with the arrival of the family dog ("Run for the toy box"). Kastner shows the dino helping everyone else to safety before the canine snatches her in his mouth and buries her outside (only the hem of her red skirt, her feet and tail are visible). In a feminist denouement, the raptor toy digs her own way out ("Luckily, Princess Dinosaur has long, sharp, pointy claws"), grabs onto the pooch's tail and eventually makes it back home again, where the other toy-box inhabitants welcome her. Rendered in watercolor and pen-and-ink, Kastner's illustrations depict the heroine with a range of funny facial expressions and exploit the scenario's comic potential. Ages 5-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
