How Do Dinosaurs Stay Safe? (How Do Dinosaurs...?)

by Jane Yolen (Author)

How Do Dinosaurs Stay Safe? (How Do Dinosaurs...?)
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

From crossing the street with Mama to encountering a stranger, the playful but careful antics of America's favorite dinosaurs will make readers laugh aloud -- and prompt discussion of safety issues.

Few things in childhood are as important as learning how to behave safely, and the topic deserves discussion in every family. Now Jane Yolen and Mark Teague deftly approach this critical subject with warmth, humor, and hilarity.

The wildly funny contrast between Teague's massive dinosaur children and their human-sized surroundings makes this subject especially appealing and funny. Where a book about safety for children might be potentially frightening, the antics of immense dinosaurs jumping on the bed or learning how to dial 9-1-1 on Mama's tiny phone will keep readers laughing from start to finish.

Parents, children, teachers, and other caregivers need a comfortable way to discuss safety, and this book provides just that. And as children learn invaluable rules about safe behavior, they'll beg to read it again and again for the wildly appealing silliness on each page. Here is a book that belongs in every household!

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School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2—This much-needed addition to the series explores everyday situations. Yolen's rhyming text tackles recreational safety ("He wears/a good helmet/when riding his bike/takes bottles of water/when on a long hike."), safety at home ("Is he rough with the cat?/Does he stand up/on chairs?/When Mama says 'No!'/does he run down the stairs?"), and a reminder that every "dinosaur" should know when and how to dial 911. Teague's bright illustrations are wonderfully whimsical, with colorful dinosaurs taking up the bulk of the spreads. Their expressions, and those of the diverse humans, are a delight, from the worried looks of dinos behaving unsafely to the loving looks of caregivers seeing their charges safe and having fun. Seasoned dinosaur enthusiasts will appreciate having the proper name for each creature included in the text and endpapers. Books on safety can verge on didactic, but not this simple, lovely title—it's all sorts of fun. An excellent addition to all picture book collections.—Amy Koester, Learning Experiences Department, Skokie PL

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Throughout the How Do Dinosaurs series, prehistoric carnivores and herbivores have showed off some less-than-perfect behavior in modern settings. Now Yolen and Teague take the idea a bit farther: what about when a young dino (or human) is acting in a way that isn't just "bad" but dangerous? "If anyone dares him, / does he always try/ to jump from the rooftop/ as if he could fly?" asks Yolen as a gigantosaurus perches tentatively atop a suburban home. As always, examples of better (and, in this case, safer) actions follow, and while Teague's illustrations generally play the situations for laughs, the book's seriousness of purpose won't be lost on readers. Ages 3-5. (Feb.)

Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes




Jane Yolen

Jane Yolen is an author of children's books, fantasy, and science fiction, including Owl Moon, The Devil's Arithmetic, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? She is also a poet, a teacher of writing and literature, and a reviewer of children's literature. She has been called "the Hans Christian Andersen of America" (by Newsweek) and "the Aesop of the 20th century" (by the New York Times). Her books and stories have won the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, two Christopher Medals, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards, the Golden Kite Award, the Jewish Book Award, the World Fantasy Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Association of Jewish Libraries Award, among many others.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780439241045
Lexile Measure
480
Guided Reading Level
9
Publisher
Blue Sky Press (AZ)
Publication date
February 20, 2015
Series
How Do Dinosaurs...?
BISAC categories
JUV002060 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures
JUV015010 - Juvenile Fiction | Health & Daily Living | Daily Activities
JUV039270 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Strangers
Library of Congress categories
Dinosaurs
Stories in rhyme
Safety
Safety education

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