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Review: Don’t Ask a Dinosaur

April 24, 2018April 24, 2018 Jane the Raincity Librarian 4 comments

dinosaur
Written in a masterfully-executed rhyme, the book presents a cavalcade of lesser-known dinos and pairs their odd characteristics with little tasks that are hilariously impossible because of those features. “Don’t ask Deinocheirus to set the forks and spoons,” because his hands were enormous, “Therizinosaurus cannot blow up balloons,” because he had very long claws. In the end they find the one thing everyone can help do is to blow out the candles on the cake…but will it create yet another mess?

I love dinosaurs. I really do. I always have, in fact. As a child I was obsessed with all things dinosaur. A family summer holiday to the Royal Tyrrell Museum and Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta was one of the highlights of my childhood. Jack Horner was one of my idols, The Land of Time was my favourite cartoon, and I must’ve watched Jurassic Park dozens of times.

In short, if you’re looking for someone to review your dinosaur-themed picture book, I’m your girl. I. LOVE. DINOSAURS.

dinosaur1

Don’t Ask a Dinosaur by Deborah Bruss and Matt Forrest Esenwine would have made little Jane a very, very happy dinosaur camper. It magically mixes a catchy rhyming text with plenty of tongue-twisting dinosaur names and absolutely awesome, eye-catching illustrations. It is fantastic.

dinosaur2

When a little boy and girl invite a group of dinosaurs to a birthday party, all sorts of calamities ensue, and a right royal mess is made of things. Oh dear! Thankfully the children discover that dinosaurs have some very special talents that can turn a birthday disaster into a birthday success.

dinosaur3

Each scene is just filled to the brim with colour, movement and excitement – this book is nonstop action and joy. I particular like that the illustrations show a boy and a girl interacting with their new dinosaur friends – the little girl is actually shown wearing a dinosaur-logo t-shirt and playing with a stuffed dinosaur! I was often seen as a bit of an oddity for preferring dinosaurs to dolls back in the day, and I’m so glad to see a little girl character who seems to love dinosaurs just as much as I did!

The book includes a very handy glossary to help you master the pronunciation of all those dinosaurs names and learn a bit about each creature. It’s a lovely addition, and one that I would have really enjoyed as a kid.

dinosaur4

In case you couldn’t tell already, I really enjoyed Don’t Ask a Dinosaur – it’s colourful, silly, exciting and loads of fun, and it’s sure to give budding palaeontologists a real thrill!

Don’t Ask a Dinosaur

Hardcover, 32 pages
April 17, 2018 : POW!
Source: Publisher

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About Jane

About Jane

Jane is a tea-drinking Canadian picture book author with a rather sizeable cardigan collection.

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4 comments

  1. Matt Forrest Esenwine says:
    April 24, 2018 at 5:35 pm

    Wow, thank you so much, Jane – what a glowing review! If I ever find a real dinosaur, I’ll be sure to send it to you. 🙂 This made my day!

    Reply
    1. Jane the Raincity Librarian says:
      April 26, 2018 at 5:06 pm

      You’re very welcome!! I think it’s an awesome book – kids are going to LOVE it!!

      Reply
  2. Deborah Bruss says:
    November 8, 2018 at 12:15 am

    I never thanked you for your awesome review. Thank you thank you. The day after Matt commented, I broke my hip. I’m back in the game now. My 2-year-old granddaughter loves her plastic dinosaurs and ignores her Barbies. Thank goodness she has her priorities straight.

    Reply
    1. Jane the Raincity Librarian says:
      November 9, 2018 at 5:51 pm

      Now that’s a little girl after my own heart! I was very happy to share Don’t Ask a Dinosaur, there can never be enough fun and informative dinosaur books for my voracious little library users!!

      Reply

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Hey, there!

Jane Whittingham


Welcome to my blog! Here you’ll find musings about writing, book reviews, program ideas and other bits and bobs from my life as a book-loving author-librarian-mum.

  • Home
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    • ONLY THE TREES KNOW
    • WILD ABOUT CAMPING
    • QUEENIE QUAIL CAN’T KEEP UP
    • A GOOD DAY FOR DUCKS
    • WILD ONE
  • About Jane

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