Nothing scares a dinosaur

PreS-Gr 2--As a young child is tucked in bed for the evening, he envisions himself as a dinosaur. In this charming and creative sequel to Geisel Award Honor--winning Nothing Fits a Dinosaur, a young boy with brown skin has no fear after his teeth are brushed and bath time is complete. Laying awake, he can't help but hear a scratch behind the closet door and see a giant shadow on the wall. Fortunately, his dinosaur alter ego is ready for any challenge, and he responds to the intruders with a flick of his tail, stomp of the feet, and a mighty ROAR! Mommasaurus soon hears the commotion and reminds her dear dino that it is lights out. The concluding image reveals that the earlier disturbances were simply toys and other items in the child's room. Each spread includes one to four rhyming sentences with a range of three to 12 words. Young readers will delight in the child's innovative response to lighthearted bedtime fears, while caregivers will relate to Mommasaurus's requests for quiet. VERDICT This winning book is certain to be a bedtime favorite, alongside Jane Yolen's How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and Rhiannon Fielding's Little Dinosaur (Ten Minutes to Bed).--Olivia Gorecke

The protagonist ofNothing Fits a Dinosaur (2021) returns--as full of confidence and pizzazz as ever. It's bedtime, and the young narrator--who's brown-skinned with curly dark hair--adheres to a reassuring routine that involves a bath, a story, and being tucked in by Momma. But once the child is alone in the dark, sounds and shadows begin to seem ominous. As a mechanical toy casts a terrifying silhouette, the protagonist repeats the titular mantra and boasts, "I can make one twice as tall!" The narrator then transforms into a large, orange dino resembling a T. rex and bravely confronts other threats--a monster, a "closet beast with fuzzy paws," a spider, stormy weather--and even menaces the family cat. Alert readers will enjoy spotting the sassy feline sticking out a tongue when comeuppance arrives for its pursuer. But--spoiler alert--our hero backs down when, offstage, "Mommasaurus" finally roars, "GET IN BED! TURN OFF THE LIGHT!" and the narrator sensibly complies. Rhyming text (with a few dissimilar word pairs such asyawn/on) in an irresistible four-beat rhythm makes the pages fly by. The artwork is suffused in bright, saturated colors, and frequent shifts from close-up to mid-distance perspective help keep readers' attention. A humorous and relatable tale that will motivate readers to battle on to the end.(Early reader. 4-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.