Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea

I liked this book, but it was very loud and had a lot of excitement in it. I loved the theme, that the little dinosaur takes on everything in his life and wins except for bedtime, but there was so much noise and not that much wind-down time that I'm not sure it was the best choice for the last story of the night. The loud colors and sharp edges of the drawings fit the story perfectly though and it was a very short read (maybe 5 minutes read aloud) so you would have the option of making this very fun story the first in your bedtime repertoire and making another more relaxing story go after it.

"From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Shea (New Socks) makes a hilarious commentator as his hero, a small red dinosaur, elevates everyday encounters into a series of matches worthy of the WWF. Dinosaur versus... a bowl of spaghetti! announces Shea and, with a trio of bold typographic roars (and two chomps), the bowl is vanquished. Dinosaur wins again! declares Shea, as Dinosaur coolly acknowledges his triumph. Again and again, Dinosaur proves unbeatable—the foes he defeats include a pile of leaves, a big slide and talking grown-ups—but the title hints at his Achilles heel. Dinosaur may not resemble anything found in a paleontology textbook, but he's a terrific surrogate. Incorporating paper, paint, photo collage and quick strokes of crayon, Shea's freewheeling compositions convey both a beguiling spontaneity and a preschooler's sense of invincibility. Kids will be only too happy to capitulate to this irresistible package. Ages 2–6. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."

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