Patrick's Dinosaurs <small> by Carol and Don Carrick</small>

This is a delightful book about two brothers --Patrick and Hank -- and their trip to the zoo.

The two boys are walking around when Patrick begins quizzing his older brother Hank about dinosaurs. Hank answers but he has no idea what uses his statements are being put to.

For example, when Hank informs Patrick that one brontosaurus weighs more than 10 elephants, Patrick imagines a huge see-saw with a brontosaurus on one side, and a stacked pyramid of 10 elephants on the other.

Similarly, when Hank says that there was once a crocodile that had jaws twice as big as Patrick, the little boy imagines a single gigantic crocodile driving off a score of little ones.

Which brings us to the one picture that might be a concern for some moms and caregivers. The big crocodile is shown swallowing a smaller one: it is half in/half out of his mouth. This can be 'cool' for some kids, but it might bother others.

In any case, this imaginative play goes on through diplodocuses, stegosauruses, and triceratops, until we get to that favorite of children, T. Rex. The tyrannosaurus follows the boys home and hangs around leering through the windows - at least in Patrick's mind-- until Hank assures him that dinosaurs are all long gone.

Talking Points:::
Patrick's Dinosaurs is a Good Read-aloud that's fun to share.

The story combines dinosaurs with imaginative play and the illustrations do a good job showing children how big the thundering lizards actually were.

The relationship between the brothers is wholesome and caring which is nice for a change.

And the vocabulary is diverse and you should know that the font is relatively small.

Recommended Age: 4 to 9ish
Language: okay
Violence: big crocodile shown swallowing a smaller one.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs