Rod Chay

I was unprepared for how seriously the book took its subtitle “for modern times.” Each pair of pages is creatively arranged to feature one fact about dinosaurs, juxtaposed to a depiction of the same dinosaur in a nonsensical modern context. It is indeed silly, and delightfully charming in its challenge to children to relate dinosaurs to the modern world they are more familiar with.

Well, this was long awaited, and thanks to Abigail at LibraryThing, we got the mystery solved, and I received a copy of the book. Luckily, this was a fun, well drawn and written children's book, with rhymes that will engage young readers, especially those who are totally enamoured with dinosaurs already. It shows a variety of the creatures in their natural habitat, and then, on contrasting pages, shows them in modern kid's clothing, doing normal kid things, with silly and interesting rhymes show more to accompany the pictures. The illustrations are done in a way that mimics children's drawings, using what look like crayons or colored pencils for the execution of the originals. The expression on the dinos are clever and well done, and the book over all, feels very much of a child's world. If the reader is like me, it will make you chuckle , as much as the little ones giggle. Definitely recommended! show less

I didn't approach this book as a person knowledgeable about dinosaurs. I knew that T-Rex was the big fierce one, and pterodactyls flew. That's about all. This book didn't teach me anything new about pterodactyl, but I did learn that T-Rex had teeth the size of bananas. That's impressive, and phrased in a way that I will remember it! The rest of the book is just the same; a dinosaur per page, with one fact new to me and one bit of silliness. I enjoyed learning more about dinosaurs! It will show more take me a couple more read-throughs to get the rhythm of it correct, and then this will make an excellent storytime book to read aloud. In my experience, kids love that interactive silliness and getting to correct a reader over things like, "They love to jump on trampolines..." Hahaha! I would have liked a pronunciation guide tucked into the front or back of the book, because what if my granddaughter wants this book read every time I see her? I shall have to research and find out whether it's 'spYnosaurus' or 'spINosaurus', because I think this book has a high likelihood of being chosen as a favorite. show less

This book is a keeper! A+

In thirty bold and colorful pages, this book depicts ancient wildlife from the rockstar of dinosaurs, the T-Rex, to many of its lesser known prehistoric contemporaries.


Each two-page spread introduces one behemoth from the past, giving insight into a hallmark feature of that creature, while employing the whimsy of rhyme and imagination!

this factual introduction, the reader (or listener) is invited to imagine what creative activities each old-timers might enjoy, show more if it showed up to play in our modern day!

highly recommend this exceptionally well-crafted book. This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. September 9, 2023. show less