Dino Hunters: How to Catch a Dinosaur by Adam Wallace

TOMORROW'S THE BIG SCIENCE FAIR.

WE'VE NEVER WON BEFORE, BUT THIS YEAR, I CANNOT LOSE!

You can't fault this kid for not having some BIG dreams. As a hunter, he's gone after some exotic creatures--a mermaid, unicorn, leprechaun, elf, a monster, a dragon, and even..., yes, The Easter Bunny and The Tooth Fairy.. But this time, it's for SCIENCE, and he's going after the ultimate catch--a DINOSAUR.

Dinosaurs have been described as huge, fierce, and carnivorous They have also been described as extinct!   But this kid doesn't buy that story! He's a full-blown dino extinction denier.

And besides, he and his friends have a plentitude of plans for this big game hunt. After all, they know all about dinosaurs! They try setting out a tasty meaty bait, but the dino bypasses the easy bite.

LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A PLANT EATER!

But one dino trap after another fails to capture this mighty--volcano deadfalls and power machinery with potent pulleys, their Robohugger 9000.

SHE SHOULD BE CALLED T. WRECKS!

It's back to the old drawing board, for our intrepid hunter and for intrepid author Adam Wallace and illustrator Andy Elkerton, in their latest in their How To series, How to Catch a Dinosaur (Sourcebooks/Wonderland, 2019). It seems as long as there are big beasts and magical creatures to catch, our boy will be game for the big game hunt and young readers will keep on chuckling at his efforts. See other funny books by Adam Wallace here.

Hold the Crown: Too Princessy! by Jean Reidy

It's a rainy day--and not the sort of rainy day that makes a girl want to go out and play in the puddles either.

I'M BORED!

Maybe just the right toy is hiding in that big cardboard box, one that will inspire some indoor fun. How's about some music? There's a drum and a toy piano....

TOO BANGY! TOO PLINKY!

The jumping jack is too jolly. The play clay is too gloppy and the robot is too blinkety. The clown is too over-the-big-top circusy. Even the costume is too princessy and her tiara is too crowny. Soon the too-something cast-offs are scattered all over the floor , and the big brown box sits empty.

It seems no plaything in the box pleases this persnickety girl.

But---wait! That box has possibilities. Can she fit inside? Could it be a rainy day castle?

Could it be....FUN?

Collaborators Jean Reidy and Genevieve Leloup join forces in their third picture book ode to adjectives, Too Princessy! (Bloomsbury, 2012). As in their earlier Too Purpley! and Too Pickley! Reidy's smart wordplay and Leloup's monochromatic and stylized illustrations spoof the picky among us with good humor and verve. Pair this one with Antoinette Portis' notable Not a Box for some fun with the power of the playful mind.

When You're Smilin': Birdy's Smile Book by Laurie Keller

...SMILES MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY.

...I'M NOT SURE WHY, BUT CHEESE MAKES PEOPLE HAPPY, TOO. WHENEVER SOMEONE TAKES A PICTURE, THEY SAY, "SAY "CHEESE"!"

EVERYONE SAYS "CHEESE!" AND THEY SMILE.

I LIKE THAT.

Birdy is a gelotologist, which she cheerfully tells us is someone who studies smiles and smiling. She points out that she herself can smile while doing anything--standing on her head, climbing a tree. Well, almost anything. Smiling is not likely while eating broccoli.

Birdy may except eating broccoli, but she remarks that smiles make most things better. Even George Washington, with his dentures, a combination of carved hippo horn and cows' teeth, would have looked better if he had smiled for his portraits.

Of course, smiles are not all-powerful.

MY GRANDFATHER SAYS MY SMILE CAN LIGHT UP A ROOM.

I WISH IT COULD CLEAN UP MY ROOM!

But smiling can increase our endorphins, which can only improve doing chores, right?

But even Birdy admits that there are times when smiles just don't come.

IT'S EASY TO SMILE WHEN I'M GLAD.

BUT SOMETIMES I FEEL BAD OR MAD OR SAD.

MY SMILE IS SMART, THOUGH. IT KNOWS WHEN TO LEAVE ME ALONE...AND WHEN TO COME BACK.

Birdy's Smile Book (Christy Ottaviano Books) (Henry Holt, 2010) Laurie Keller's quirky illustrations enliven what is actually a fairly substantial treatise on the smile, appropriately brightened with her cheerful heroine's wit and bright grin, even when her dog, French Fry, piddles on someone's stylish shoes. And who knows? Maybe Birdy's contagious smile really can spread all the way to Timbuktu.

As a built-in bonus, readers can try out their own smiles on the full-page mirror at the end of the book. No smile? Just say "Cheese"!