VACATION'S OVER!

They’re not extinct, after all—they’ve just been on an interstellar cruise for a few million years. And now they’re back, loaded down with tourist snapshots and dirty laundry, eager to slip back into their suburban routines. A purple brachiosaurus finds herself stymied by the Great Wall of China, which has interposed itself between her and her accustomed toilet facility; a stegosaurus visits the post office looking for a package ordered millions of years ago; T. Rex arrives home to his cave to find his pet fossilized. Readers of the popular Jane Yolen/Mark Teague How Do Dinosaurs... titles are in for a severe case of déjà vu, as Kulka’s huge, clothed dinos look an awful lot like Teague’s, and the illustrations are likewise all about how silly they look in human-sized settings. The author’s versification skills are far less evolved than Yolen’s, however—“They rode on Venusian coasters, / played on alien shores, / indulged in the lavish buffets, / and took all the scenic tours”—and this homage is likely to be a roaring disappointment to series fans. (Picture book. 6-8)