Bruss and Esenwine warn against asking dinosaurs for help when setting up a birthday party...the writers artfully incorporate the name—broken into bulleted syllables—of each prehistoric partygoer into the rollicking rhyme, and supply, at the end, a pronunciation guide and a quick descriptive comment. One thing the dinos can do is sing the birthday song at top volume . . . but don’t let them help blow out the candles!
Dinosaur aficionados are going to LOVE this one...With a style and cadence similar to Numeroff’s "IF YOU GIVE A…" series, this book shares why you shouldn’t ask each particular dinosaur to do certain tasks, with adorable illustrations to show exactly what will happen. As an adult, I greatly appreciate the syllable breaks in the dino names since these always trip me up during read-alouds! There is a great dino fact section at the end of the book so you can dig in and learn more about each of the dinosaurs as well.
This light romp...has loads of laughs as dinos try wrapping presents and baking cakes. The text has loads of those tough dino names, all with dots to separate the syllables into pronounceable snack-sizes. And it scans smoothly and rhymes! I know, I couldn’t believe it, either. Plus, Louie Chin did a wonderful job bringing the dinos to vivid but not-too-scary life. If you have a tyke with a dino-fixation, you will soon be the cool parent who can pronounce all those tongue-twisting names.
"Don’t Ask a Dinosaur" mixes important themes to kids such as having a birthday party, crazy dinosaurs, unique capabilities of our peers, and creating an event that isn’t a complete disaster! The book pulls off balancing ‘plans’ and ‘reality’ of having prehistoric guests at a party that is super fun for readers. I envision many dino parties happening in my backyard this summer!
This humorous picture book imagines what would happen if you asked for help with birthday party preparations and participation from dinosaurs. Although this scenario is obviously totally imaginary, the names and illustrations of the dinosaurs are up-to-date and informative...What makes this a cut above similar books is the tight and inventive rhyming. The reader cannot help but be impressed at Esenwine’s mastery of rhyme and rhythm using long and complex dinosaur names. “Don’t ask an Ankylosaurus to come in through the gate or ask a Tanystropheus to help you decorate.”
