How to Grow a Dinosaur

November 13, 2017
Babies can be loud, smelly, and unpredictable, but they also give older siblings a chance to become role models. These are familiar topics, but Esbaum (Frankenbunny) and Boldt (There’s Nothing to Do!) infuse them with fresh comedy by transplanting them to a dinosaur household, where readers meet a newly minted older sibling with orange scales, a huge head, expressive eyes, and a toothy grin. The hero struggles to find footing with the baby (who is pink and quite adorable in its dino diaper), but Esbaum offers the reminder that “you’re the perfect one to teach that baby everything.” Some of the older sibling’s ideas work better than others: presented with the family’s pet saber-toothed cat, the baby promptly turns it into a teether. But soon a happy friendship is forged. Esbaum combines the classic cheerleading tone of the how-to genre with shouted choruses of “Good news!” and “Bad news!” that reflect the peaks and valleys of siblinghood. It’s an ideal setup for Boldt’s broadly funny digital paintings, which include an entire spread devoted to dinosaur tantrums. Ages 2–5. Author’s agent: Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary.

December 1, 2017
Dinosaur fans expecting a new baby in the family now have a guide to big-siblinghood.Esbaum and Boldt address readers directly in the second person and play up the humor of the ups and downs of having a baby. "Good news!" is followed by "Bad news!": "Your mama's hatching a baby!" but "Babies take their sweet time." Mama dino carries a car seat with an egg strapped inside. Three pages show that the wait is too much for the impatient sibling: dad rescues the egg from a hammer-and-screwdriver threat. Of course, the egg hatches, then it's time to wait until the new baby is big enough to do anything other than scream, eat, burp, sleep, and poop (this last causes the sibling to run away screaming). Gradually, the book continues, it will be your job to teach the baby how to be a dino, but be careful: babies are copycats, so watch your behavior. The digital T. Rexes are each a different color, the new baby pink with a purple pacifier, the older sibling orange with a blue shirt and toys that suggest it may be a boy. While Esbaum and Boldt can't address every aspect of having a new baby around the house, they hit the relevant highlights--the serious, the horrific, and the hysterical--and tenderly portray the growing bond between the two children. (Picture book. 3-7)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.