Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Filled with whimsy and imagination, this book will delight children of all ages as a group of rogue dinosaurs seek misadventure, since they "aren't very good at following the rules." Reminiscent of the humor and themes (toys come alive when children go to sleep) from the movie Toy Story, this picture book comes alive with bold action. In an authors' note, the Tumas detail the origins of the work and how they decided to document their children's dinosaur toys as they came to life each night. This book is a collection of photographs inspired from their Dinovember collections on social media. Scenes range from mud-filled messes, art inspired graffiti as "sometimes they go too far" and spray paint each other to images of the dinos playing in the laundry room, where the authors' warn that "dinosaurs are dry clean only." Detailed photographs will keep kids turning the pages and parents enjoying the rockling dino antics. VERDICT Recommended for picture book collections and coffee tables alike.-Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A child narrator alerts the reader that unexplained messes in the house are the fault of ominously portrayed plastic toy "DINOSAURS." Messy, gooey color photographs document the dinosaurs creatively and thoroughly destroying the house in scenes straight from parental nightmares. While the visual details are fun to explore, the winking premise never pays off, and the plot is nonexistent. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
For anyone who doubts that plastic dinosaurs come to life and sneak out at night to make household messes, here's photographic evidence. As caught in the act by a trusty camera with "custom bacon modification to attract hungry dinosaurs," toy dinos head first for the fridge but go on to turn the playroom, parents' room, laundry room, and attic into domestic disaster areas. The scenes are littered with loose food and bric-a-brac, splashed with shaving cream and mustard, covered in tangles of yarn, spritzes of spray paint and, in the climactic living-room tableau, wild smears of dark brown goop that surely can't be what it looks like. It's not malicious mischief, as the accompanying commentary notes, but all in good fun, and eventually the dinos will go back to lying lowthough, as a final shot of a busy rooftop launch pad reveals, they'll always be up to something. The Tumas have much to answer for, as this album will join the many like scenes they have posted online as a record of their annual family "Dinovember" celebrationswhich are already, no surprise at all, spawning fans and similar outbreaks of disorder in other locales. The authors may well have created a monster with this deliciously chaotic notion. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
