THE MOST AMAZING DINOSAUR

In the prolific Stevenson's latest, a rat on the road gains temporary shelter, new friends, and new destinations in a natural-history museum. One snowy night Wilfred finds his way into an enormous stone building—recognizable as New York's American Museum of Natural History—and meets, among the dioramas and dinosaur fossils, several living residents, including an owl named Pritchett, Harry the snail, and a skunk, Buxton. Cautioning against attracting the attention of Thrawl, the irascible museum director, Buxton, takes Wilfred on a quick behind-the-scenes walkabout, from cafeteria to Pritchett's private museum of found objects in the attic. In his characteristic sketchy, (seemingly) casual watercolors, Stevenson effectively captures the drama and intricacy of the exhibits. His animal characters change relative size from scene to scene, which here is not the flaw it would be in most other illustrators' work, but an effective technique for viewing the museum's treasures from a child's eye level. Wilfred and his companions go from being fugitives to “Special Assistants” after they save Thrawl's job by reassembling a collapsed dinosaur (in a hilariously balletic posture), but come spring, Wilfred is off on his bicycle, with Harry in his pocket, to see real whales and elephants and bears. Kindle interest in an outing with this appealing glimpse of a museum after hours. (Picture book. 6-8)