Review by Booklist Review
The author of My FANGtastically Evil Vampire Pet (2018) offers here a picture-book reworking of Romeo and Juliet, populated with dinosaurs. In this version, Romeosaurus (a plant-eating stegosaurus) and Juliet Rex (a meat-eating Tyrannosaurus rex) meet at a masked ball and become fast friends. Realizing the difficulties their relationship poses, the two run away, prompting Juliet's nurse (a pterodactyl) and Romeo's friend Mercutio (a triceratops) to assume the worst, particularly when they discover Romeo's hat and Juliet's backpack floating in the tar pits. Luckily, the two are fine, so everyone lives happily ever after, although an asteroid can be seen approaching in the sky. Joyner's digital art depicts everyone in Elizabethan attire with matching household decor. In keeping with the humorous text, the comic-style art is played for laughs, particularly the scene in which Romeo's Auntie Gladys is shown trussed for eating on the buffet table. The intended audience won't care about the liberties taken with this story, although alert four-year-olds will realize that these species did not live contemporaneously.--Kay Weisman Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
When Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers become dinosaurs, "both alike in lizardness," it's good-bye principles of tragedy, hello nonstop jokes. Instead of Montagues and Capulets, Romeo is an herbivore stegosaurus, the sort of dino that Juliet Rex's carnivorous family eats for dinner. The two instantly connect at a party, despite the fact that Romeosaurus must liberate his aunt from the buffet table, where she's the main dish. A balcony scene ensues-although, as Juliet helpfully points out, "There's a stone ramp over there"-and after a misunderstanding at the tar pits, the families agree to put aside their differences. O'Hara (the My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish series) and Joyner (The Pink Hat) know their audience well: in this version, the relationship remains strictly platonic ("They giggled, they talked, they played"), and the irreverence is such that even readers whose cultural literacy doesn't yet include the Bard will feel in on the spoof. Dinosaurs dressed in medieval garb are as funny as they sound, but the cartooning never takes potshots at its improbable characters. Juliet may be a huge green tyrannosaur, but she's also figuratively fierce in her puffy dress. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Gemma Cooper, the Bent Agency. Illustrator's agent: Kirsten Hall, Catbird Productions. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-In this prehistoric twist on a Shakespeare classic, Romeo is a herbivore and Juliet is a meat eater. Just like in the source material, they meet at a ball and realize that they are indeed star-crossed lovers, this time not because of a family feud, but because of their meal choices. Knowing that they can never be accepted by the other's family (dinner parties would be an absolute disaster) the pair decides to run off together. Though there is slight nod to the original fate of the main characters (the couple's hats are found floating in the tar pits) the resolution to this version is much less macabre. The families realize that they can't be kept apart and decide to accept the pairing. The final scene shows a happy gathering of herbivores and carnivores mingling together, with a familiar looking Bardasaurus at the head of the table and a very dangerous comet in the sky. The illustrations are humorous and very detailed; the endpapers showing the family portraits are delightful. VERDICT An original and entertaining fractured version of a classic tale.-Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh © Copyright 2018. 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 Kirkus Book Review
Shakespeare's classic tragedy gets a comic retelling and a happy ending."Once upon a time, one hundred and fifty million years ago." Romeosaurus' family (a mix of dino species) are herbivores, while Juliet Rex's (T. Rexes and a pterodactyl nurse) delight in eating meat. The two meet at a masked ball, quickly becoming friends, though the herbivores must make a quick escape after Romeo helps Auntie Gladys off the buffet table, where she's been trussed, with an apple in her mouth, and Mercutio-tops accidentally pokes Tybalt Rex with his horns. The balcony scene leads to a cementing of Romeo and Juliet's friendship, and the two leave notes for their loved ones and run off to the tar pits. Knowing what danger that poses, Nurse-a-Dactyl and Mercutio-tops fly to the rescue ("We should have let them be friends!"), and the foursome agree that carnivores and herbivores can be friends (not meals). But this happily-ever-after is marred by a looming final-page meteorite. Indeed, O'Hara sprinkles humorous references throughout that will fly over kids' heads, though parents will be in stitches: "Juliet Rex was waving her tiny arms in the air like she just didn't care." Joyner's digital illustrations are a hoot. The dinos are dressed in Elizabethan finery (dino color and clothing color separating carnivores and herbivores, in addition to the former's pointy teeth), and their expressions are sure to evince giggles, most being over-the-top.Not too shabby for a first taste of the Bard. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
