Can't Beat Santa! Dinosaur Vs. Santa by Bob Shea



ROAR! I’M A DINOSAUR!

I AM GETTING READY FOR SANTA.

DINOSAUR VS. ... LETTER TO SANTA!

Bob Shea’s endearing little red dinosaur is back, ready to take on the challenges of the holiday season with a merry ROAR!

With a scribble and and self-congratulatory ROAR, he finishes his missive and slams it into the mailbox. Now on to other jolly Yuletide jobs.

But first, a littler dino has to be properly turned out for the tasks ahead, so he slips on his festive red and green snowman sweater. Dinosaur vs. tree trimming? Colored balls? Twinkly lights? No problem. With a cheery roar, he finishes up the fir – at least as far as he can reach, which is only the bottom boughs.

Then he’s off to the next task–presents for Mom and Dad. With a few popsicle sticks and paints he whips up a picture frame for his loving self-portrait. ROAR! Gingerbread man cookies for Santa? Dinosaur decorates them with glee! Double ROAR! Being good until Christmas. Um, ROAR???

Christmas is under control!

Except for the hardest task of all, getting Dinosaur to sleep on Christmas Eve!

TOSS! TURN!

NOW DINOSAUR WILL DO SOMETHING NO DINOSAUR SHOULD EVER DO!

You guessed it. Dinosaur gives in to temptation and sneaks a peak at what no youngster is ever supposed to see–what is making that distinctive jingle jingle down in the living room. Does Santa know? Will he retrieve all the toys and take them back for some other youngster who stays in bed on Christmas Eve?

It’s the old story of spying on Santa, in Bob Shea’s newest, Dinosaur vs. Santa (Hyperion, 2012) in which this adorable dino tot takes on Santa and the rest of the holiday stuff. Will there be a happy ROAR or two at Dinosaur’s house on Christmas morning?

Earlier books in Shea’s series are Dinosaur vs. Bedtime, Dinosaur vs. the Library, and his ever-popular magnum opus, Dinosaur vs. the Potty (Board Book). A winning combination for stuffing any stocking!

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.

Case Closed! Dinosaur Vs. Mommy by Bob Shea

MOMMY TAKING A QUICK SHOWER! (ROAR!!)

TRAIN! (ROAR!)

BUNNY! (ROAR! ROAR!)

FLUSH!!

DINOSAUR WINS! (ROAR! ROAR!! ROAR!!!)

While Mommy is seeking to make short shrift of a shower, little Dinosaur enjoys a bit of water play himself, dropping first his toy train and then his plush bunny down the toilet and flushing!

There's a rip-roaring dinosaur flood ready for Mommy when she steps out of the shower.

But that's not even the beginning of Dinosaur's day with Mommy, which started with a roar with Mommy trying to catch a few extra winks of sleep and Dino bouncing on her bed with what seems an excess of exuberance.

"MOMMY!  MOMMY!! MOMMY!!!....MOMMY!!!!!!!

The day provides plenty of contests with the ever-patient Mommy--an excursion to the supermarket, tossing the freshly-folded laundry, and finally reluctantly getting into the bath (ROAR!), reluctantly getting out of the bath, (ROAR, ROAR), and putting on pajamas (and taking the tighty-whities off his head).

Mommy collapses into the comfy chair! Dinosaur wins, right? MORE ROARS!

Will Mommy fall asleep first? It looks like the judgment is with Dinosaur's side of the case, until, in a tribute to the power of Mommies everywhere, he climbs into Mommy's soft, warm lap, in Bob Shea's latest, Dinosaur vs. Mommy (A Dinosaur vs. Book) (Hyperion Books, 2015). In Shea's vibrant Dinosaur Vs. series, his ebullient little Dinosaur has already taken on many toddler challenges--bedtime, school, the library, Santa, and his magnum conquest, the potty! A close look at the book's cover reveals that his sweet Mommy and Dinosaur drawing is being done by Dinosaur with Mommy's pink lipstick on the wall, followed by a quick sequence of sight gags that will keep preschoolers roaring with giggles as Dinosaur makes his way through the day with Mom, taking on each challenge with verve and the seemingly inexhaustible energy of little ones. "Shea's Dinosaur titles will never fail to be read-aloud hits," roars Kirkus Reviews.