I Wanna Be a Great Big Dinosaur

March 15, 2016
A little boy finds out what dinosaurs do...and vice versa. The titular proclamation, delivered in oversized type by an overstimulated white boy with wide blue eyes, brings on a young theropod, also blue, who provides some not-entirely-necessary instruction: "And first, you must learn how to... / ROAR! / Next comes STOMPING!" With eating, though, the instruction begins to go two ways, as the kinetic kid introduces his carnivorous cohort to the wonders of cake and ice cream, spaghetti, and even sushi. And then on to reading, soccer, and video gaming. All of this leaves the toothy erstwhile tutor rumbling plaintively "I wanna be a LITTLE BOY!" A fine solution presents itself--"Let's be BOTH!"--and in a final scene, the boy, with a homemade cardboard dinosaur suit strapped on, roars and stomps alongside a prehistoric pal clad in purple shorts and a boxy cap decorated to resemble a blond boy head. McKenzie scatters craft supplies underfoot in his minimally detailed illustrations as further prods to explore the pleasures of playacting. Something like a gender-switched companion to the author's My Rules for Being a Pretty Princess (2015), but with more give and take between the roles. (Picture book. 6-8)

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