1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Florian, Douglas. 2009. Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781416979784
2. PLOT SUMMARY
DINOTHESAURUS should be in every kid-paleontologist’s book
collection. It is a series of 20 pun-fun
poems all about dinosaurs. Florian
introduces dinosaurs from the Triassic to the Jurassic periods. Each poem has its own two-page spread with
bold colored font, followed by phonetic pronunciation, and root word
meaning. A short poem (between two to
sixteen lines) and brilliant multi-media illustration accompanies the spread of
each extinct reptile.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Florian uses free flowing rhyme scheme with multiple variations
of end rhyme. “Ankylosaurus” uses a
basic AA BB CC: nails/tails/scutes/suits/skin/we’re in! In “Seismosaurus” and “Deinonychus” he uses
repetition to begin each line with the same word. Assonance can be heard in “Triceratops” with
the sounds of the short “o” and the first syllable of triceratops:
Triceratops./Try-scare-a-tops./Try-wouldn’t-want-to-dare-a-tops./Triceratops.
The illustrations Florian creates around each poem is humorous
and clever. Each one is bold, engaging, and filled with small surprises. Giganotosaurus has exposed microchip parts
around its body while he devours all the GB (giga-bites) in laptops,
cellphones, and computers.
The best part of Florian’s poetry in DINOTHESAURUS is his play on words; he uses puns to bring humor to the details about these historic creatures.
In “Plesiosaurs,” Florian can’t help but use the
pronunciation PLEASE-ee-oh-sawrs to fill the page with word bubbles around the
water creatures, who “always say PLEASE”
before biting their prey. In
“Iguanodon,” the author uses the DON at the end of the IguanoDON to ask, “Where
is IguanoDONNA?” The illustration is two
dinosaurs atop two mounds marked for the appropriate Don and Donna, who are smooching.
Florian also includes several reference aids for the dinosaur
enthusiast: a “Glossarysaurus” to accompany each of the poems included in
DINOTHESAURUS, a list of dinosaur museums and fossil sites, followed by a
“Selected Bibliography and Further Reading” list.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 2010)
In his trademark playful, pun-laden style, Douglas Florian
turns his attention to dinosaurs in a witty and satisfying volume of paired
poems and paintings. A Tyrannosaurus rex plugged into an ipod
and a back-scratching Baryonyx are among the imaginative mixed-media images
Florian has rendered to accompany twenty poems full of delight.
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, January 15,
2009 (Vol. 77, No. 2))
Spectacularly depicted (as is his frequent
custom) on paper bags in crayon and collage, the poet's dinos are easily
recognizable despite being freely rendered and, often, semitransparent. Collage
elements add to the visual excitement, often to great effect a skeletal, iPod-sporting
T. Rex prepares to chow down on a heap of cut-out dinosaur bits and always with
enormous playfulness.
Marisa Manorek (Kutztown University
Book Review, Spring 2010)
This delightful book contains creative collaged illustrations
and real information about the history of dinosaurs to entice young readers.
The text is written as a rhyming poem. Younger children will enjoy listening to
this book being read-aloud, while older children will love to read the book
independently.
Publishers Weekly (Publishers Weekly)
Florian's free-flowing, witty collection of
poems and collages about dinosaurs is a giganotosaurus delight—perhaps his best
work ever. The poems marry facts with a poet's eye for detail: the
Brachiosaurus was “longer than a tennis court” and the Ankylosaurus says, “We
like spikes and we like scutes/ (Bony plates we wear as suits).”
5. CONNECTIONS
*Invite children to compose and illustrate their own poem about
dinosaurs. Display poems around the classroom.
In his trademark playful, pun-laden style, Douglas Florian turns his attention to dinosaurs in a witty and satisfying volume of paired poems and paintings. A Tyrannosaurus rex plugged into an ipod and a back-scratching Baryonyx are among the imaginative mixed-media images Florian has rendered to accompany twenty poems full of delight.
Spectacularly depicted (as is his frequent custom) on paper bags in crayon and collage, the poet's dinos are easily recognizable despite being freely rendered and, often, semitransparent. Collage elements add to the visual excitement, often to great effect a skeletal, iPod-sporting T. Rex prepares to chow down on a heap of cut-out dinosaur bits and always with enormous playfulness.
Marisa Manorek (Kutztown University Book Review, Spring 2010)
This delightful book contains creative collaged illustrations and real information about the history of dinosaurs to entice young readers. The text is written as a rhyming poem. Younger children will enjoy listening to this book being read-aloud, while older children will love to read the book independently.
Publishers Weekly (Publishers Weekly)
Florian's free-flowing, witty collection of poems and collages about dinosaurs is a giganotosaurus delight—perhaps his best work ever. The poems marry facts with a poet's eye for detail: the Brachiosaurus was “longer than a tennis court” and the Ankylosaurus says, “We like spikes and we like scutes/ (Bony plates we wear as suits).”
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