GORGONZOLA

A huge dinosaur with equally huge D.O. gets a personal hygiene makeover, thanks to coaching from an irritated avian victim. Cast as a massive blue-green triceratops with ropy strands of slime dripping from mouth and nose, Gorgonzola looks more puppylike than fearsome, but all flee at his approach nonetheless. A bird mom finally tells him why (“You’re a Primo Stinko!”), then takes him step by step through a vigorous brushing of teeth, a gargle with mouthwash, a soapy bath—“Woah! WOAH! Don’t just splash. You gotta scrub, boy! Scrub!”—and an exuberant powdering. “I feel like a real humane being,” he crows. “How often do I have to do this?” Bowers hangs a whistle around Birdie’s neck and tucks other visual jokes into his scratchy prehistoric scenes. Redolent with high-spirited humor and capped by a magnificent pun, this should make persuasive reading for any young monster who heads the other way when bath time rolls around. (Picture book. 5-8)