If dinosaurs had hair

Marvin imagines a fashionable world of prehistoric vanity in this commercial exploration of the outlandish titular concept. "Why, if dinosaurs had hair, they must have had parents who brushed it too hard. And siblings who pulled it. And snarls," opens the book, further noting that with locks come "hairstyles," "hair products," and "drama." The latter is in fact so acute it results in "hair warfare" that pits styles and species against one another. As the tension rises, speech bubbles throughout play for salon-gossip laughs unlikely to resonate with the intended age range. Vamos's digital renderings vividly accompany, featuring multi-colored sauropods, cerapods, and the like sporting a range of boldly dyed styles: "From bowl cuts to brush cuts/ to bouffants and braids." An explosive conclusion foregrounds Marvin's punning with a potentially disconcerting cosmic payoff. Ages 3--6. (Oct.)

Ever wonder why there are no dinosaurs? Marvin and Vamos offer a possible answer with a humorous twist: Dinosaurs had hair. Imagine! If dinosaurs had hair, they must have had hair problems, too, like "parents who brushed it too hard," "siblings who pulled it," and "snarls. SO. MANY // SNARLS." And if dinosaurs had hair, they probably flaunted their impressive styles by "flying with flair," "galloping with gusto," and "swimming with sass," all of which led to gossip, jealousy, and hair drama like the "HAIR // WARFARE!" between Team Hair-o-dactyl and Team Pompadour-o-saurus, complete with Jurassic jeers and computer game--esque illustrations. Readers see a battle of hairstyles, "from pigtails to pixie cuts…// from pageboys to perms." The winning style? "BIG BANGS!" As a T. rex shows off their hairdo, illustrations show asteroids raining down in the background; the final page shows a lone, feathered dino who has survived--consistent with the theory that dinosaurs evolved into birds. The book's climax may also provide a teachable moment to distinguish the concept of the Big Bang from theories of extinction. The primary text moves the story forward briskly, but a second layer of sassy and punny speech bubbles also add humor for older readers and adults. Detailed, digitally created illustrations feature vibrant colors, hilarious hairstyles, and dinosaur facial features with lots of attitude and emotions, making this a book that will be read and reread often. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A laugh-out-loud, dino-themed farce. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.