Both dinophiles and lovers of big machines will dig this natural storytime companion to Frann Preston-Gannon’s Dinosaur Farm...
Dinos plow, fertilize, harvest, herd, pick, pull, pack, and build on the farm.
The prehistoric crew from Dinosaur Pirates! (2017) and its predecessors fire up the farm machinery and roar off to tend fields and livestock, put up fence posts, lay down fertilizer, and, when the time comes, gather in a bountiful harvest of lambs and piggies, fruits and veggies to display at a “farm show.” To jagged lines of alliterative text that are big on sound effects—“Dirty dinosaurs digging, digging up the muddy carrots. The muddy carrots to be washed and weighed. Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!”—Dale pairs rural scenes crowded with modern farm animals seemingly unfazed by the more or less human-sized dinos who, many sporting impressive dentifrices as well as a dazzling array of skin colors and patterns, are hard at work all around. It’s a little odd to see relatively tiny, toothy theropods operating relatively large farm equipment, but once readers become used to it, it’s hard not to get a chuckle out of two reptilian farmers trading waves as they till their neighboring fields. Two little pigs sneak out of the pen in the first full scene, and readers will enjoy spying them in unlikely places in the subsequent ones. Labeled galleries fore and aft identify both the 10 dinosaurs and the nine types of harvesters and other heavy machines that feature in the illustrations.
Both dinophiles and lovers of big machines will dig this natural storytime companion to Frann Preston-Gannon’s Dinosaur Farm (2014). (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9936-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
