How Do Dinosaurs Say I'm Mad? (How Do Dinosaurs...?)

PreS-Gr 2—This humorous story features angry dinosaurs acting out and, with the help of human parents, learning how to cope with this powerful emotion. A different dino is featured in each rhyming scenario. "When Papa says, 'No!' does he [Scaphognathus] grumble and pout?/When Mama says, 'No!' does he [Thecodont] throw toys about?" After he is told to take a time-out, the Afrovenator counts to 10 and breathes calmly. The Sauropelta proceeds to clean up the mess he made; Beipiaosaurus apologizes to his mom and gives her a hug. Yolen creates a wonderful story arc using one or two sentences per page. The illustrations, made with acrylics in muted hues, jump off the page. Each dinosaur covers almost three quarters of a spread, dwarfing his human family members, and is illustrated with great facial expression and body language. Teague includes several types of dinos and creatively tucks in the corresponding name (Lystrosaurus, Barapasaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus) in small letters near each one. The clever endpapers create a key. Pair this outstanding title with Molly Bang's classic When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry... (Scholastic, 1999). Yolen's story is spot-on and can easily be used in a storytime about anger, or in a one-on-one setting.—Anne Beier, Hendrick Hudson Free Library, Montrose, NY

Yes, even dinosaurs have bad days, and a few of them are at their worst in this addition to Yolen and Teague's popular series. It's always a delight to watch Teague's dinosaurs misbehave, and that's especially true when they're throwing tantrums: an ungainly barapa-saurus sticks out its tongue at its human sister (who sticks hers out right back), a thecodont "throw" toys about," and an afrovenator scribbles its name on the wall and sends a chair flying "When he's told to sit still." As in the previous books, proper behavior--including hugs, apologies, and neatening up--closes out the book. Good advice on handling albertosaurus-size bad moods. Ages 3-5. (Oct.)