Dinosaurs on Call: Dinosaur Rescue! by Penny Dale

DINOSAUR TRAIN CHUGGING,

CHUGGING DOWN THE TRACK.

STUCK DINOSAUR CALLING, CALLING!

DINOSAUR RESCUE,

PLEASE COME QUICK!

When your little yellow truck gets stuck at the railroad crossing, who you gonna call!

Dinosaur Rescue, that's who. Different dinosaur crewmen scramble for their vehicles, and zoom toward the scene.

WEE-OOO!  WEE-OOO!  WEE-OOO! Dinosaur Police join flying dinos in their 'copters, CHOPPA CHOPPA! CHOPPA! at the crossing, waving red flags,  as the engineer of the Dino Train hits all the brakes. SCREECH!  SCREECH, SCREECH!

The Dinosaur Train stops just in time, and the Dinosaur EMRs dismount to make sure that everyone is safe and sound, as the Dinosaur Tow-Truck pulls up to haul the little yellow truck off the tracks. BRMM! BRMM! BRMM!

All is well, and the diverse rescuers return to their headquarters for a little R & R before they hit their bunks with a SNORE! SNORE! SNORE!  in Penny Dale's action-packed Dinosaur Rescue! (Candlewick/Nosy Crow Press, 2013).  With lots of action verbs and onomatopoeic sound effects that kids will love to join in on, Dale's latest vehicular adventure makes a perfect introduction to some of the more dramatic community helpers in that favorite primary grade unit.

Dale's bright illustrations are big and bold, both realistic and imaginative, to match her breathless narrative. Even the different drivers and crew are represented accurately enough for dinosaur enthusiasts to recognize, abetted by the front endpapers which show each dino helper and its scientific name, while the back endpapers give a nod to young gearheads with the various vehicles and their names.   A great read-aloud group participation story which is also accessible to beginning readers, this one combines dinosaurs with vehicles for lovers of both and offers opportunity for discussion of coordinated community services besides.

Pair this jolly first-responder story with Michael Slack's brand-new Elecopter, (see my recent review here), or with Dale's other books in this dino-mite series, Dinosaur Zoom! and Dinosaur Zoom!