Review by New York Times Review
A loony idea is expressed perfectly in Small's larger-than-life illustrations. "Buy a dozen get a dinosaur," it says at the local bakery, instantly transforming a boring day of errands for a little boy. The triceratops that emerges from the back is huge (and so is the bakery lady, in socks, sandals and a striped apron). The boy takes home the doughnuts and the dino, plus a stegosaurus, a pterosaur and a baby hadrosaur - and even more improbable, there's a happy ending for Mom, too.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [October 27, 2009]
Review by Booklist Review
The young redheaded narrator hates going on errands with his mother. What could be more boring? But then something amazing happens. At every store they visit, a free gift comes with their purchase. Not a toy, not a lollipop a dinosaur. A triceratops at the bakery, a pterosaur at the barbershop. At the doctor's office the boy begs for a shot; it comes with a stegosaurus. This is a one-joke tale, but Small's illustrations heighten the humor in every way, shape, and form. Using two-page spreads to best advantage, he fills the pages with dinosaurs doing all sorts of smile-producing activities: eating out of the garbage truck, sliding down a slide, cleaning the gutters. In fact, Mom finds all sorts of chores for the dinos to do (tail spikes come in handy for hanging wet laundry). The final spread, a bring-your-own-dinosaur party in the backyard, complete with giant reptiles frolicking in the pool, will have kids giggling for sure. Dinosaur lovers will love this.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Broach (Shakespeare's Secret) and Caldecott Medalist Small's (So You Want to Be President?) deadpan delivery of a delectably over-the-top premise makes this tall-format picture book a virtually guaranteed crowd-pleaser. At the bakery with his mother, the freckle-faced narrator spies an odd sign above the doughnut case: "Buy a Dozen Get a Dinosaur." They make the purchase, expecting a toy, but the bakery lady trots out a triceratops. When the boy's flummoxed mother cries, "How are we supposed to get that home?" the proprietor responds with a sardonic smile, "Oh, don't worry, he'll follow you. They always do." After his doctor's appointment, the boy asks for a sticker, but the nurse announces that there are no stickers today, "just dinosaurs," and the receptionist presents him with a stegosaurus. His mother prudently refuses to stop at the shoe store, movie theater and diner, but the boy picks up a pterosaur at the barber shop and uses a doughnut to lure home a hadrosaur ("It wasn't my fault" he disingenuously tells readers). Beleaguered by prehistoric pets, Mom comes up with a brilliant solution. Small fuels his watercolor-and-ink art with just the right dose of hyperbole, comically relaying the boy's elation and the mother's distress at the expanding menagerie. This well-balanced romp packs an outsize helping of humor. Ages 3-7. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Another boring errand day begins.or does it? A boy accompanies his mom to the bakery, the barber, and the doctor on a typical day in suburbia. He's astonished to discover that today, instead of a free cookie, balloon, or sticker with purchase, he gets a dinosaur! With that premise, the everyday becomes crazily humorous, especially with Elise Broach's imaginative and inventive text (Atheneum, 2007) and the comic wit of David Small's watercolor illustrations. Only in their warped world could you "Buy a dozen doughnuts and get a dinosaur!" The multicolored dinosaurs playing in the boy's backyard are "the child's dream come true and the mom's worst nightmare" until she finds a way to use the giant beasts to help with the chores. This creative book gets a somewhat unimaginative iconographic treatment with flat-pan visuals of the pages. It deserves snazzy effects, animation, and the bells and whistles that can translate the original work into an even richer visual experience. Scott Nilsen tries to voice the humor that is inherent in the story, but the wit doesn't shine in its journey from the printed page to the screen. Teachers will find the conversations with the author and illustrator helpful and the pre- and post-viewing questions useful to inspire students to create their own stories.-Lonna Pierce, MacArthur Elementary School, Binghamton, NY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
From the moment the triceratops bursts out of the back room of the bakery ("buy a dozen, get a dinosaur"), this very tall tale grabs the reader's attention and never lets go. The little boy is ecstatic, but his mom is Not Happy -- until she finds unique jobs for their growing collection of reptiles. The humor stems from the sheer size of the critters juxtaposed with the relative smallness of the children -- dancing with glee or sticking a tiny tongue out -- and the expert suburban realism of Small's compositions. Except for the pterosaur (which children will want to call a pterodactyl) and the lesser-known hadrosaur, the dinosaurs here will be familiar to the dinosaur-crazed preschoolers this book will most amuse. Kids will go wild trying to imagine a world in which pet dinosaurs need to be housed, fed, and shown where to go to the bathroom. All you need is a barn...the size of Texas.From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
What if one day every merchant in town offered up, and indeed, insisted that shoppers take home a live dinosaur (free) with every purchase? That's what happens to a boy and his mother in this sweet, absurd story that unfolds very much like a dream--or a nightmare, depending on the reader's perspective on having a large dinosaur as a pet. In Small's comical, wonderfully expressive watercolor-and-ink drawings, it's easy to identify the mother's reaction to the bonus triceratops (free with a dozen doughnuts); stegosaurus (from the doctor instead of stickers); and pterosaur (from the barber instead of the usual balloon): unmitigated horror, inversely proportionate to her son's delight. The hulking beasts are irresistibly endearing, though, as they wait patiently, doglike, for their new owners outside all the town establishments and ultimately, once at home in the family's backyard, prove their worth as household laborers, cleaning gutters and rescuing far-flung Frisbees. In the end, the boy's friends bring their own newly acquired dinos over to his house for a poolside party--and he knows Mom has truly come around when she calls the baker for more doughnuts. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
