MY FIRST DINO-HOCKEY

The veggiesaurs face off against the meat eaters in a dinosaur hockey game.

This rhyming board book features hockey-playing dinosaurs as they glide across the ice in front of an excited crowd. With simple text—often no more than two to three words on a page—and an appealing subject matter, this lends itself nicely to toddler readers. Gott’s illustrations capture the speed of the game and the crowd’s enthusiasm. One particularly action-packed scene shows a puck slamming toward the goal, the goalie Troodon’s surprise and determination evident on its face. Gott’s ice shines, while the dinosaurs are depicted in eye-catching greens, beiges, and oranges. The action-packed scenes include dinosaur head-butting moves along with slick hockey skills. There are lots of details, such as the time display on the Jumbotron, the “DHL” logo on the rink, and the names and numbers on the players’ jerseys. The rhyming text is largely descriptive (“Dino-skates. / Stick and puck”), with a simplicity and bouncy rhyme that pace the story appropriately and allow the illustrations to take the lead. Overall, this is a great fit for dino fans and future sports fans. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Basic content with all-star illustrations.