DINOSAUR PARADE

A parade of brilliantly colored prehistoric beasts introduces little ones to the vast variety among the dinosaurs.

“They come in all sizes. / They come in all shapes. // Some have clubs. / Others have plates.” Simple, labeled, black-outlined illustrations depict tiny Coelophysis, medium-sized Dimetrodon and enormous Diplodocus, and a page turn reveals Ankylosaurus and Stegosaurus. These are set against solid-colored backgrounds with just hints of detail—a rock here, a plant there, a line of mountains in the back, a hint of a tree. The book also explores dinos that walk on two legs versus four, swimmers and fliers, plant eaters and meat eaters, and those that look scary (Tyrannosaurus) versus those that look sweet (a mother and baby Maiasaura touching noses in a nest). The concluding sentence, stretched across three spreads, points out more attributes before bringing the parade back to its beginnings—a little boy playing with his plastic dinosaurs in his room. The endpapers depict all 21 dinosaurs along with a pronunciation key and a brief fact, usually one that illuminates the prior illustration: “Tyrannosaurus had teeth the size of bananas.” The brevity of the text and the vivid colors will certainly keep little ones’ attention; storytimes could not ask for a brighter collection of illustrations to share around the circle.

Make space in the crowded dino section for this one.