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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
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Summary
Summary
It's Lulu's birthday and she's decided she'd like a pet brontosaurus as a present. When Lulu's parents tell her that's not possible, Lulu gets very upset. She does not like it when things don't go her way. So she takes matters into her own hands and storms off into the forest to find herself a new pet, all the way singing:
I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, gonna, get
a bronto-bronto-bronto-bronto-saurus for a pet!
In the forest Lulu encounters a number of animals; a snake, a tiger, a bear, all of whom don't particularly impress her. And then she finds him...a beautiful, long-necked, gentle, graceful brontosaurus. And he completely agrees with Lulu that having a pet would be a wonderful thing, indeed! Lulu thinks she's gotten her birthday wish at last. Until she realizes that Mr. Brontosaurus thinks that she would make an ideal pet for him!
How will Lulu ever get out of this sticky situation without throwing a fit (Mr. B does not respond well to those), or using force (Mr. B is much to tall to bonk on the head with her suitcase), or smushing her pickle sandwich?
Author Notes
Judith Viorst was born in Newark, New Jersey on February 2, 1931. She graduated from Rutgers University (1952) and the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute (1981).
She has written extensively, her works include children's books, collections of poetry, lyrics to musicals, several works of fiction, and a cookbook. She has won a Silver Pencil award (for The Tenth Good Thing About Barney) and an Emmy (for poems used in an Anne Bancroft TV special).
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-Viorst and Smith introduce a spoiled young lady who wants a brontosaurus for her birthday. With her lightbulb-shattering screeches, Lulu is used to getting her way, but her parents refuse this request. After four days of screaming, she tells her parents, "foo on you," packs a small suitcase, and sets off into the forest. After getting the best of a snake, tiger, and bear, she meets a brontosaurus. He, however, decides that she will be his perfect pet. While this story follows a familiar cautionary-tale story line, Lulu is both determined and surprisingly resourceful (her small suitcase contains pickle sandwiches and an astonishing amount of stuff). Viorst's narrative is appropriately arch: "since I'm the person writing this story, I get to choose what I write." There's plenty of child-friendly humor, and Smith's droll, exaggerated pencil drawings on pastel paper deftly add to the fun. The pinheaded brontosaurus is irresistible and reminiscent of Syd Hoff's beloved dinosaur from the "Danny and the Dinosaur" series (HarperCollins). This inventive, lighthearted fantasy should be a solid hit with young readers looking for a lively first chapter book.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
While no one can question Viorst and Smith's street cred, they've turned in a curiously unaffecting chapter book. Lulu, a Louise Brooks look-alike, "was a pain-a very big pain-in the butt." Given to "screech till the lightbulbs burst" when she doesn't get her way, Lulu quickly wears down parental resistance to her whims. But when Lulu tries to turn a brontosaurus into a birthday pet, she discovers that there may be a creature who's more willful (and far better mannered about it) than she is. Will Lulu spend the rest of her life as the dinosaur's pet? Will this encounter turn her into a kinder, gentler kid? The plot and characters barely seems to matter-or act only as setups for Viorst's irreverent, metafictional nudges. "Is that where a brontosaurus would live? In a forest? I'm afraid that I'm not absolutely sure. But since I'm the person writing this story, I'm putting this brontosaurus in a forest." It's an approach that's made Smith and Jon Scieszka deservedly famous, but here-despite the fun to be had in seeing Lulu finally meet her match-it feels self-indulgent. Smith's angular pencil illustrations bubble with arch humor, but it's not enough to rescue this effort. Ages 6-10. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Excerpts
Excerpts
There once was a girl named Lulu, and she was a pain. She wasn't a pain in the elbow. She wasn't a pain in the knee. She was a pain--a very big pain--in the butt. Now, Lulu was an only child, and her mom and her dad gave her everything she wanted. And guess what? Lulu wanted EVERYTHING. Tons of candy. Tons of toys. Tons of watching tons of cartoons on TV. And if her mom and her dad ever said (and they hardly ever said it), "Sorry, darling, we think you've had enough," Lulu would screech till the lightbulbs burst and throw herself down on the floor, and then she would kick her heels and wave her arms. And pretty soon her mom and her dad would say, "Well, just this once," and let her have whatever it was she wanted. © 2010 Judith Viorst Excerpted from Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.