Dinosaur vs. Bedtime

You know how stories can be told in completely different ways by inflection, alone? Well this is a new story every time I read it to my daughter. Some parts get drawn out, embellished, and expanded. Others have a very humorous turn that reaches the pure and mighty heights of satire.

But mostly, it's all about the roars.

I honestly have a great time hamming this one up. I can be as loud and obnoxious as I want, and I don't even have to convert it into semi-clever turns of phrase.

Oh, the Joy!

Best of all, my daughter loves it.

And best for me, it's not a god awful dull piece of shit with shifty and/or incomprehensible morals that require a fucking PHD to unravel or 20 years as a practicing priest to find peace after reading it. Bonus!

A pile of leaves, a playground slide, a bowl of spaghetti, all met with the little dinosaur's fearlessness and a mighty trio of roars as this simple picture book progresses toward the ultimate showdown against bedtime. Following each battle "Dinosaur wins!" sets up the reader for the turn when baby dinosaur meets his match.

Shea's use of playful, childlike illustrations, bold colors and collages, and expressive typeface give this simple story the extra edge it needs. It's a bedtime book that honors and recognizes that settling in for the night doesn't begin quiet, just as baby dinosaur's day begins with yelling and action and progresses toward the inevitable.

I am not a huge fan of the bedtime book as a rule. For the most part they are show more books designed to calm and prepare a child for bedtime, they serve as child modification devices for adults. There are books for children about grieving, books about potty training and books to explain "issues" like bullying and divorce. This need to find a book to explain or frame specific situations on behalf of adults creates an illusion that books have all the answers, that unpleasant business can be handled with a book, and trains young minds to view reading a book with skepticism. Like medicine, where is the joy of reading if it's presented as an aid to a symptom. Stories should be told for the joy of the story, not as a means to an end.

Shea's book takes the bedtime book and turns it on its head. Instead of quiet good-nights to items in the room or lullabies from animal mommies to their babes we have a rambunctious baby, a dinosaur baby, roaring right and left, fighting and defeating inanimate foes. The subversion in this is that young readers are easily lulled into thinking this books will end in a victorious dinosaur winning against bedtime. But after a bath and brushing of teeth the roars get quieter and even dinosaur can't win against sleep. And the lesson: even raucous dinosaurs need their sleep.

Literacy wins! show less

My mother-in-law was not pleased when I started roaring in the middle of the bookstore when I first found this bad boy. It was instant love, Little Dinosaur and I were meant to be together, and Christmas shopping made a handy excuse to bring him home with me. The bright colors, the simple but humorous illustrations, and the chance to roar like a dinosaur make this book a hit with everyone.

Little Dinosaur, with his mighty roars, can win at everything, no one can stand against him. Not a pile of leaves, a bowl of spaghetti, the toothbrush, or boring adults. A little bit of roaring and jumping and DINOSAUR WINS! After defeating the bath tub and the toothbrush, Dinosaur moves on to his greatest challenge - bedtime. Unfortunately he is no show more match for bedtime and his roars gradually quite down and turn into snores.

I'm not sure how good a bedtime book this is since I always end up running around and roaring when I read it, but it is so much fun! It is impossible not to giggle when reading this story. Little Dinosaur is just so cute, even when he's grumbly. I do find that Dinosaur vs. Bedtime works best with children in the 3-7 age range, but I have read it to 10 year olds and it was still fun. I give it 6 stars, you need this one people, go get it now! show less

This one was fun! Dinosaur kicks everyone's ass! ROARR! But bedtime wins in the end! I really related to this when we read it because we had just started giving our son (doctor-approved!) melatonin so it was poignant to see him, too, kick everyone's ass and then lose to bedtime, who was not playing fair.

Great for story time! Imagine how much fun you and children will have shouting "roar, roar, roar" each time the dinossaur takes on a foe, like spaghetti. Spare, quick, fun.

Dinosaur vs Bedtime follows a young dinosaur who cannot be stopped, even when facing a pile of leaves and a big bowl of spaghetti, but will he win when he faces the daunting challenge of bedtime? The colors and illustrations are cute and the constant roaring that the dinosaur does would be great to read with your toddler because they can roar along with you. It ends on a soft note but I don't think it unwinds slowly enough for it to be an effective bedtime book, (the child might still be excited from all his roaring). However, it is a cute, funny book and I would recommend it.
Dinosaur vs. Bedtime was selected as a Best Book of the Year by Amazon and a Bulletin Blue Ribbon by the Center for Children's Books.

In my opinion, this is a fun book for young children. I liked the book because it appeals to those who are young, such as infants and two-year-olds. The story is intended for beginning readers because of the limited text, large print, and short sentences. The language and writing of the story makes it easy for parents and educators to become interactive with their readers. The text uses the word, “Roar!,” plenty of times which can engage readers into what is going on because of the attention of saying words loudly. The words in the story are easy, understandable, and clear to those of young age. There is a consistent pattern of saying “Dinosaur versus...” Which makes it predictable for children, and gets them excited to see what show more else the Dinosaur will face. For example, “Dinosaur versus a bowl of spaghetti!” and “Dinosaur wins!” “Dinosaur versus bath time and tooth brushing!” and then “Dinosaur wins again!” The chalk-like, bold illustrations matches the audiences' age group. Perhaps the best part of this book is the main message. As the dinosaur goes about his day conquering fun obstacles, at the end the “Dinosaur must face his biggest challenge! Bedtime!” Although the dinosaur roars and roars, he ends up getting tired and falling asleep. “Bedtime wins.” No matter what how much children try to fight against sleeping, at the end, children will get tired and sleep. show less