What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night

August 10, 2015
This toys-come-alive story uses the seeming verisimilitude of photography and a passel of ubiquitous plastic dinosaurs to make very funny magic (this book was inspired by the Tumas’ Tumblr, “Dinovember,” and a version for adults was published in 2014). Shot almost entirely in the Tumas’ house, the comic tableaus assert that the toy dinos are running wild by night—well, not “running,” exactly, since they are as immobile as when they emerged from the manufacturer’s mold. But given the right camera angles and clever propping, it becomes remarkably and delightfully easy to project vividly mischievous personalities onto these inanimate critters. Place a squirt bottle of mustard in the hands of one, and a condiment outlaw is born; stick a pigtailed doll wig on another, and it’s a whole new twist on “fierce.” The text can be overly literal (“Your parents probably don’t let you play in the bathroom, but dinosaurs aren’t very good at following the rules”), but it successfully captures the wonder, exasperation, and secret admiration provoked by these terrible lizards’ terrible behavior. Ages 3–6. Agent: Kristyn Keene and Liz Farrell, ICM Partners.