Too Many Dinosaurs

August 8, 2011
You know the story. Boy wants pet; boy can’t have pet; boy magically finds dinosaur; dinosaur wreaks havoc; boy magically makes dinosaur go away. There’s nothing wrong with a familiar premise if an author finds new life in it, and for kids who haven’t seen this sort of thing before (especially those who have outgrown Mayer’s Little Critter), there are several spreads that ought to make them sit up and take notice. Most of these occur after the hero has obtained a “dinosaur horn” that not only summons his runaway triceratops but also all the other—and bigger—dinosaurs that have somehow been lurking unseen in the suburban landscape. On these pages, Mayer employs dramatic framings and exhibits some impressive draftsmanship, giving a scary/comic twist to the term “invasive species.” But most of the book is marked by enervated storytelling (“I had a feeling that my dinosaur had come this way. Then I found him”), too easy solutions (the horn handily makes the dinos vanish, too), and a surprisingly underwritten hero. Ages 4–8.

August 1, 2011

The plot doesn't exactly make sense, but that hardly matters when the pictures show a suburban neighborhood suddenly overrun with humongous dinosaurs.

His mother's steadfast refusal to let him get a dog only breaks down after a lad visits a yard sale to buy first a huge egg that hatches into a rambunctious baby triceratops and then a "dinosaur horn" that brings a towering T. Rex and more dinos thundering out of the trees. In some of his most finished, sharply detailed illustrations ever, Mayer shows casually dressed human figures and massive, exuberant prehistoric ones—all bearing comically exaggerated expressions—chasing one another through yards and down streets until the lad blows his horn again and the surprised-looking dinos fade away. Cut to a final scene in the pet shop, where boy and wriggly puppy bond as Mom takes her abrupt about face with good grace. The first-person narration runs to just a line or so per page, but it might as well not be there at all, so expressive are the illustrations.

Eye candy for dinosaur fans, with piles of yard-sale goods and other junk on hand that will reward closer looks. (Picture book. 4-6)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 1, 2011

K-Gr 2-A boy whose mother won't let him get a dog instead buys a dinosaur egg for a dollar at Mr. Jerry's yard sale. A triceratops hatches, sneaks away, and spends the morning causing trouble in the neighborhood, and the boy needs help catching his new pet. Luckily, Mr. Jerry has a dinosaur horn he's willing to lend that should bring the creature back. Unfortunately, it works too well and all manner of dinosaurs appear when it's blown. They follow the panicked boy home where his mother demands that he "Do something." One more blow on the horn and miraculously the dinosaurs begin to fade away and disappear. In the aftermath, the exasperated mother says, "That's it. You're getting a puppy." Mayer's colloquial text and unmistakable illustrative style are both present here. The illustrations are full-page or cutouts surrounded by white space and done in rich colors. The text is placed in and around them to good effect. Plenty of background details spice up the very funny scenes for observant readers, and wild action and chases abound. Kids will love the clever twist at the end, where they see what happened to the dinosaurs.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2011
Grades K-2 A young boy, denied the dog he truly wants, purchases a large egg at a yard sale. Eventually a baby triceratops hatches from the egg, damaging Mom's garden, frightening the neighbors, and chasing several dogs into the woods. In an attempt to recapture the creature, he blows a horn (obtained from the same yard sale) and then watches in horror as dinosaurs big and small appear, trampling through the neighborhood. Luckily, a second toot makes them fade and disappear, prompting Mom to purchase him the best puppy in the whole world. This take on a familiar plotlinea boy, a dog, and a dinosaurfeatures magic, mayhem, and a multipage rumpus that includes lively, prehistoric animals cavorting as astonished neighbors gape. Mayer's signature style artwork, rendered here on computer, incorporates wide-eyed, round-faced humans and mostly friendly dinosaurs coexisting on a bucolic street. Succinct text and uncluttered spreads make this ideal for story hours; pair with Lois G. Grambling's Can I Have A Stegosaurus, Mom? Can I? Please!? (1995) or Steven Kellogg's The Mysterious Tadpole (1977).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2012
When Mom vetoes a puppy, the narrator buys a tag-sale dinosaur egg. It hatches with disastrous results; by the end of the story, the puppy seems like a good option, so Mom buys one. Effective comic pacing and colorful illustrations with an engaging mixture of fantasy and reality help bolster the familiar story line.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)