Dinosaur vs. School

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" The diminutive red dinosaur (Dinosaur vs. Bedtime) romps and stomps its way through the school day, making friends, playing dress-up, etc. The fun comes to a halt at clean-up time: "OH, NO! It's too much for one dinosaur!" But there's a lesson to be learned: "When everyone helps...EVERYONE WINS!" The mixed-media illustrations contain lots of color and motion.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" The diminutive red dinosaur (Dinosaur vs. Bedtime, rev. 9/08) faces its newest foe: the American education system. The new kindergartner (or er; could be either) romps and stomps its way through the school day, making new friends (a fox, cat, pig, horse, and…a fluffy cloud), playing dress-up, creating "monkey snacks," and more: "Dinosaur versus…making music!" As kids familiar with this series can anticipate, in each case "Dinosaur wins!" The fun comes to a halt at clean-up time: "OH, NO! It's too much for one dinosaur!" But there's a valuable little-kid lesson to be learned: "When everyone helps…EVERYONE WINS!" The mixed-media illustrations contain lots of color and motion, with real-life objects incorporated thoughtfully and humorously into the digital collage (there are real raisins spilling out of the illustrated raisin box, and check out all those googly eyes on the arts-and-crafts page). Monster Buddy and his rabbit pals (from Buddy and the Bunnies in: Don't Play with Your Food!, rev. 1/14) make a cameo appearance on Dinosaur's lunchbox, but nothing beats that happy little cloud cheerfully playing the accordion during music time. elissa gershowitz