HUNTING THE DADDYOSAURUS

This rhyme-along item features two young, roly-poly, soft-toned dinosaurs stalking their father as he leaves a trail of clothes, crumbs, and other detritus after returning home from work. “We’d better beware as we follow his tracks. / You can’t be too careful, no time to relax! / He’ll never escape as we shout out our chorus: / We’re hunting the marvelous Daddyosaurus!” The second half is a refrain that appears every other stanza, while in the intervening stanzas Bateman inserts a little chugging wordplay—“Hunka-cha, hunka-cha, rooba”—which is fun to say even if it wreaks havoc on the rhyme scheme. There is little doubt that this verse will go choral as soon as the refrains are established. Dinosaur touches abound in the pictures—three-toed boots, trim on a vase, patterns in a towel, the objects of a mobile—otherwise, this could be any typical household. A downside here—nagging at first, and then quite conspicuous—is that the verse is too long for its own good. C’mon, find him already, your yodeling charges may demand, even while they merrily hoot the refrains. (Picture book. 3-6)