THE TWELVE DINOSAURS OF CHRISTMAS

A dinosaur-themed version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

The book opens: “On the first day of Christmas, / my grandpa gave to me… / a Santasaurus and her dino baby.” The story continues, with each page turn revealing a new dinosaur gift: “two merry raptors,” “six T. rexes wrapping,” all the way up to “twelve pterodactyls twirling.” A brown-skinned child appears throughout, playing with the various dinos. The “Santasaurus” appears to be the only fictional dinosaur; the rest include the Jobaria, Troodon, and Spinosaurus. Most pages feature alliteration, like “seven brontosauruses baking” or “ten deinonychuses dashing,” which echoes the original Christmas carol and helps with reading or singing aloud. That said, some of the lines are awkward and clunky to sing, with the emphasis changed from the source material. The final page provides a guide to singing along, but without any written music, it’s really just a dinosaur pronunciation aid. The dinos are cute, and the bright illustrations ooze Yuletide appeal, with plenty of Santa hats, decorations, and gifts. Some pages are a bit overwhelming with detail, though “eight eoraptors eating” is an especially funny spread. Overall, though, this one doesn’t breathe new life into the holiday standard. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A serviceable if awkward rendition.