What the Dinosaurs Did at School

May 15, 2017
The Tumas’ plastic toy dinosaurs are at it again; previously seen in 2015’s What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night, they’re now busy wreaking havoc at school. As the creatures make their way through the building, the Tumas stage photographed scenes of the dinos covered with feathers and paint in the art room, wielding paper swords in the library, and embroiled in a spaghetti-laden cafeteria food fight, among other scenarios. The compositions are excellent, the props adorable (tiny lab coats in the science room, a mop-turned-wig for a T. rex), and the hyperbolic narration sustains a fever pitch (“If your teacher find dinosaurs running wild in her classroom, she’ll put them in the drawer of no return”). But it’s not quite enough to prevent a sense of sameness from setting in as the story moves from mess to mess. Ages 4–8. Agent: Kristyn Keene and Liz Farrell, ICM.

August 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-In this rollicking third book from the creators of Dinovember, the dinosaurs from What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night escape in a backpack and head to school. The narrator tries to find ways to hide the dinosaurs in order to keep them from being sent to the Drawer of No Return. Unfortunately, the dinosaurs make a mess everywhere they go, even in the library. An experiment in the science lab goes awry and they are caught and sent to the Drawer of No Return where they proceed to have a party with all the other toys. The whimsical and fun photographs show real plastic dinosaurs posed in various locations throughout the school and they are the best part of the book. Somehow, the dinosaurs' expressions (which never change) seem to match whatever action is happening around them. While the text adds to the tale, the photographs are what really carry the story. This book might even inspire students to document dinosaur adventures of their own. VERDICT Amusing and fun, students who love dinosaurs will devour this book.-V. Lynn Christiansen, Wiley International Studies Magnet Elementary School, Raleigh, NC

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2017
After demolishing a house with their antics (What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night, 2015), the plastic dinosaur toys stow away in a backpack and wreak havoc on a school. A glimpse of an orange tail and a flash of green scales alert the kids that the prehistoric beasts are on the loose. If they want their toys to escape the teacher's "Drawer of No Return" they'll have to act fast to contain them. But as in the first book, no room is truly safe when you are talking about these trouble-finding toys, who get in to absolutely everything. In the library, ripped-out pages and some folding skills yield swords and arrows, and the cafeteria becomes a nightmare of spaghetti and squirted liquids. The lab? Let's just say the dinos shouldn't have mixed those liquids together. The resultant foam explosion fills a spread and sees the dinos banished to the dreaded drawer. But is this the end? Have they learned? If you answer yes, you don't really know the Tumas. The husband-and-wife team of "Dinovember" fame pose their plastic dinosaurs with props and use perspective masterfully to stage their scenes. Those new to school will be treated to a rather different view of the place and some clever uses of the supplies they have waiting for their own first days. Better add plastic dinosaurs to the shopping list--kids will want in on the fun. (Picture book. 5-10)

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