Just Hatched! Dinosaur Kisses by David Ezra Stein

Dinah the Dinosaur has just hatched, after way too long in that egg. Shaking the eggshell off her head, she eagerly heads off to see the world, doin' what comes naturally to a baby dino.

STOMP!

Okay, stomping grass is... just okay.

Then Dinah sees two fish in the pond... kissing. Now that looks like fun. She tries a head bump first to get in the mood.

WHOMP!   

OOPS. She spies a little lungfish crossing her path.

STOMP! 

This relationship thing needs bit of fine tuning.  Then Dinah sees a big dinosaur and closes in for a kiss on his nearest part--his posterior.

CHOMP! 

Ooops again! The big dino is obviously bummed.. Maybe someone smaller?

Then Dinah spots a tiny dino, way littler than she is.   She puckers up.  He puckers up.  Finally, things are going the way they should.

CHOMP! ! !

"Whoopsy," said Dinah, somewhat deflated. "Not so good."

It's back to the hatchery for little Dinah, just in time to try out her moves with a new-hatched sibling, in David Ezra Stein's just-published giggle-grabber, Dinosaur Kisses (Candlewick Press, 2013). With a text limited to less than ten discrete words, the focus here is totally on the Caldecott-winning Stein's expressive illustrations. Dinah the Dino is the quintessential innocent but regrettably blunderbuss toddler, the type who acts first and thinks about it later. Her prehistoric world sports little spouting volcanoes and a sulfurous backdrop, and Stein's heavy black line and orange-toned palette are the perfect choice to set off Dinah's steamroller approach to relating to others, while her body language and facial expressions will telegraph to little readers the predictable results of her over-eager overtures. This is a book that kids of a certain age will instinctively understand and love.

David Ezra Stein is also the author of the award-winning Interrupting Chicken and Ol' Mama Squirrel.

Toilet Triumph: Dinosaur Vs. The Potty by Bob Shea

I DON'T NEED TO USE THE POTTY.

ROAR!

Anyone who has ever known a toddler who insists that he does not have to visit the potty knows what Dinosaur is up to here. He'll do everything and anything and go almost anywhere--except to the loo!

"Roar, Roar, Roar," he shouts as he mixes and chugs a whole pitcher of lemonade.  Does he have to go now?  NOPE! 

Dinosaur takes on all kinds of watery challenges to prove his anti-potty prowess. Splash in the sprinkler? Gulp three, count 'em, THREE juice boxes with lunch? Hose down his whale? Spray everything in sight? You would think he'd have to lurch toward the loo, jump for the john, and leap for the lavatory.

NOOOOOOO!!

Roaring in triumph, Dinosaur stomps in the leftover puddles, water going everywhere. Dinosaur is winning the battle of the toilet. Or is he?

That impromptu triumphant ballet is beginning to look a lot like a...

POTTY DANCE?

Sorry, show's over, folks. Gotta GO!

Will he make it to the little boys' room in time to avoid potty disaster? Bob Shea's Dinosaur vs. the Potty (Board Book) (Hyperion, 2012), all dressed up in a fresh new board book format, will have even hardcore potty resisters giggling and roaring along at Dinosaur's avoidance of the inevitable. Little Dinosaur, drawn up in Shea's signature comic style in black-line and bright colors, sets the scene for for an impending near miss. Will the potty win?  (Doesn't it always?) Preschoolers will empathize with this anti-potty protagonist even as they root for him to win the run for the restroom derby.

Bob Shea's other delightful Dinosaur books include Dinosaur vs. Bedtime, Dinosaur vs. Santa, (see my review here) and Dinosaur vs. the Library.

Dino Love: How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Cats? by Jane Yolen

IS THE LITTER BOX LEFT WHILE SHE WATCHES A SHOW?

DOES SHE GIVE IT A THROW?

Well, of course not! A stinky litter box can be a real CAT-astrophe, as any feline fan can aver. In their familiar style, author Jane Yolen and artist Mark Teague first give us humorous examples of what NOT to do with resident kitties in their new board book, How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Cats? (Blue Sky Press, 2010), and then show just how loving little dinos do it:

SHE REMEMBERS TO FEED IT AND GIVE IT FRESH WATER,

AND CHANGE THE LITTER BOX JUST WHEN SHE OUGHTER!

A loving little ouranosaurus, herrerasaurus, and parasauralophus show the naughty dinos just how to make their kitties purr with delight in this delightful entry in Yolen's and Teague's best-selling How do Dinosaurs series. Catchy text and clever illustrations make this little book a bargain buy for the youngest cat fanciers.

Three Little Words: How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? by Jane Yolen

Dinner was a disaster! You made such a mess!
Did you stay up past bedtime? The answer was YES!

But when you smiled sweetly and held back your roar,
When you kiss me and hug me, once, twice, even more...

That's when you give love, and I know this is true.
Because that's how a dinosaur says "I Love You!"

In their ninth collaboration in this series, Jane Yolen and Mark Teague once more successfully explore the ways preschoolers try their parents' patience and yet win their hearts all over again.

Kicking the back of the driver's seat, flooding the bathroom as they play in the sink, throwing sand from the sandbox, all those annoying behaviors that try parents' souls are illustrated engagingly by artist Mark Teague in the now familiar style as a variety of moms and dads cope with spilling sippy cups, grumpy awakenings, and missed naps when their offspring show their inner beasts.

What's a parent to do? Well, confront the misdeed squarely, but love the mis-doer, and in this now familiar format, that's what happens in How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? (Blue Sky Press, 2009). But little dinosaurs have their lovable sides, as well, and when all is said and done, "That IS how dinosaurs say "I Love You!"

The various dinosaurs are featured on the book's endpapers, and, as is his custom, Mark Teague also hides the name of each dinosaur within each double-page spread, all ten of them, from Antaretosaurus to Tsintaosaurus, to add to the fun. Good for Valentine's Day and any bedtime night, this latest in their How Do Dinosaurs.... series makes a great pair with Yolen's and Teague's How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends?