How do dinosaurs say goodbye?

PreS-Gr 1--In their latest collaboration in the "How Do Dinosaurs?" series, Yolen and Teague continue to help youngsters handle difficult situations with humor, practical advice, simple quatrains, and fabulous dinosaurs! Like many children, dinosaurs might have trouble saying goodbye when they have to part with a loved one, and they may throw tantrums, shake their massive heads, write notes (sometimes on walls!), and hide in bathrooms or bedrooms to avoid the inevitable. But with hugs from family, even dinosaurs can learn to express their feelings, and to say goodbye with kisses and love. The gargantuan creatures are amusingly depicted in familiar situations, so even though they may be sad or angry, their over-the-top antics and the reactions of their human counterparts make their problems humorous rather than traumatic. Dinosaur aficionados will love Teague's colorful reptiles, who stretch across two pages, dwarfing their human settings, and will appreciate that each dino is identified on endpapers and in tiny print where they first appear in the story. VERDICT Fans of any of the previous entries will rejoice at this new addition, which uses exaggeration and humor to help children acknowledge and deal with their dinosaur-sized emotions.--MaryAnn Karre, Binghamton, NY

Parting--of the temporary rather than permanent kind--is the latest topic to be dino-sorted in this venerable series' 14th outing. Nobody dies and the series is showing no signs of flagging, so reading anything ominous into the title is overthinking it. Instead, Teague and Yolen once again treat readers to a succession of outsized, gaily patterned dinosaurs throwing tantrums or acting out, this time as dad packs up for a business trip or even just sets off to work, grandparents pause at the door for goodbyes, mom drops her offspring off at school on a first day, parents take a date night, or a moving van pulls up to the house. Per series formula, the tone switches partway through when bad behavior gives way to (suggested) better: "They tell all the grown-ups / just how they are feeling. / It helps right away / for fast dinosaur healing." Hugs, kisses, and a paper heart might also be more constructive responses than weeping, clinging, and making mayhem. Dinosaurian pronouns mostly alternate between he and she until switching to the generic their in the last part. In the art, the human cast mixes figures with different racial presentations and the date-night parents are an interracial couple, but there is no evident sign of same-gender or other nonnormative domestic situations. Tried and true, both in content and formula. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.