Dino-Basketball (Dino-Sports)

The fourth book in Wheeler and Gott's picture-book series that mashes up the athletic with the extinct brings readers courtside as the carnivorous Meat face off against the herbivorous Grassclippers. This duo has a good thing going, and they don't mess with their formula, offering the breathless rhymes, fouls and fast breaks, and down-to-the-final-second twists readers have come to expect ("Raptor takes an outside shot./ En fuego! Ouch! The Meat is hot!"). And as in the previous books, they use the final scene to tease the next installment: "Tickets go on sale at noon--/ Dino-Football's coming soon!" Ages 5-9. (Mar.)

PreS-Gr 2--The basketball game between the herbivores and the carnivores has attracted a huge crowd of dinosaurs at Mastadon Square Garden. The Grass Clippers are the first to score, the Meat the first to steal and block. The crowd cheers as the points increase. Triceratops scores an easy deuce for the Clippers, and Raptor scores for the Meat with a slam dunk. Teamwork is demonstrated with an "alley-oop" by T. rex and Raptor and an assist by Apatosaurus. When Stego and Pterodactyl collide on the court, the Dodo referee blows his whistle to call a foul. During halftime, the players disappear off the page, but readers will be entertained by a show that features cheerleaders, mascots, and an Elvis impersonator. After halftime, Jobaria (who was on the bench) works hard to tie up the game. Both coed teams have talented players of all shapes and sizes. Rhyming couplets contain basketball terminology and a mention of the next book in this dinosaur-centric series, Dino-Football. Although there is a lot of action on the court, this game is easy to follow. Visible lines allow readers to see the path of the ball, and colored text helps to identify players and teams. The commentary is fast paced and exciting, the illustrations highlight basketball tradition and culture (cutting down the net, an audience showing team spirit), and the end is inspiring.--Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada