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Summary
Summary
A hilarious guide to having a dinosaur . . . as a pet!
Dogs are delightful. Cats are cute. And fish are fun. But the best pet of all is . . . a DINOSAUR!
But how do you pick the dino that's right for you? Spiky? Armored? Humongous? Pea-brained? Plant-eater? How do you take care of him once he's (gulp!) home? How do you feed him, exercise him, take him to the vet, and give him a bath?! Not to mention train him, since he might like to chew on--er, swallow--Mom's new shoes.
Full of little-known info and sage advice, this definitive guide to dino ownership is sure to thrill and delight kids everywhere!
Author Notes
Laura Joy Rennert is a literary agent who lives in California with her husband and daughter. This is her first book.
Marc Brown has received numerous accolades for his illustrations for Wild About Books and Born to Read, by Judy Sierra, and is the beloved creator of the books and TV show about Arthur the aardvark. He lives in Martha's Vineyard and New York City.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-The opening spread, filled with smiling dinosaurs and children's faces, sets the tone for this tongue-in-cheek guide: "There is a dino for every kid, and a kid for every dino." The ensuing, satisfyingly large spreads focus on qualities readers may be looking for in a pet and the dinosaurs that best meet those needs. Children in the market for a winged dino will learn that the Pteranodon (pronunciation guide included) will help them catch fly balls at the baseball stadium and has a "long fourth finger perfect for removing unnecessary broccoli from dinner plates." After a tour of five popular varieties, advice is offered on keeping a pet comfortable, clean, and obedient-well, not very obedient. There are recommendations on exercising and traveling with a dino and suggestions about when to take one to school. While the book's approach is best for a kindergarten audience, the snarky, ironic tone is more suited to an older audience. Brown helps the cause with vivid monoprint with gouache artwork-some of his best illustrations to date. His overly enthusiastic, sweet-faced, humongous patterned dinosaurs are-in defiance of natural history-irresistibly delicious.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Literary agent Rennert's debut picture book opens on a wry note, explaining, "Dinos make great pets, but some may need a little more housebreaking than others." But this manual for dinosaur owners falls short of the premise's comedic potential. A rather flat rundown of five species recommends triceratops as "a great watch-dino," pteranodon as a skilled catcher of fly balls at baseball games and spinosaurus as a "great warm-weather dino" that can cast shade on summer days; kid-pleasing tidbits are scattered throughout. Subsequent spreads offer tips on "teaching an old dino new tricks," including sit, heel and roll over ("Let's not even go there"), as well as feeding, bathing and other aspects of prehistoric pet ownership. Though the text's humor is sometimes strained, Brown's (Wild About Books) innovative art (gouache paintings of each image in reverse on glass) is consistently entertaining, spotlighting playful dinosaurs and happy children in scenarios that feature electric hues and rich textures, driving home the parting message: "Dinos are for fun!" Ages 5-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved