From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-A half dozen dinosaurs head out to sea with humorous (and gross) results. Rhyming text tells the story with a fairly strong rhythm and a usually even flow. Verses are peppered with sometimes clever "dinowords": "Dinosailors need a break./They shiver, ache, and dinoshake./Though winds die down to just a breeze,/They still have wobbly dinoknees." Though overdone on occasion (e.g., "dinosault" for somersault), this device adds to the playful tone of the narrative. Fine's gouache-and-watercolor illustrations add a great deal of humor and appeal. Facial expressions convey the sailors' delight or dismay without detracting from their dinosaur essence. The pictures have plenty of amusing touches, such as the bandanna-wearing, eye-patched stegosaurus and the brachiosaurus with a life jacket and neck ring. After rough waters and too much food, the dinosaurs head for the rails, and a wordless spread depicts six blasts of vomit against a glittering sunset. This image will either repulse or tickle readers, and may render the book a little less comfortable as a storytime choice for some. After giving up on sailing, the "dinobunch" comes up with a new plan, taking over a train on the final page. Nancy Shaw's Sheep on a Ship (Houghton, 1989) is a more subtle example of the animals-at-sea premise, but the attractive illustrations and subject matter should make Dinosailors a hit.
Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, ORCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Gr. K-2. At first glance this looks very like Jane Yolen and Mark Teague's
How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight (2000) and its sequel-- from its size and colors to the expressions on the characters' faces. But on closer inspection, it's very different. Fine's art is looser, more thickly brushed, and less patterned and precise than Teague's; as for the text, there's a real story, rather than a collection of scenarios keyed to a common theme. Lund tells a happy-go-lucky tale about a motley crew of dinosaurs who set sail for a watery adventure, relaying it in a zesty rhyme that makes the most of the prefix
dino ("dinosailors choose a course / Raise anchor using dinoforce"). All goes well until winds blow strong, and "dino tummies slosh and churn." Although the critters finally lose their lunch (spewing green spray from afar in one spread), they keep their spirit of adventure, which they sensibly reroute to solid ground: "Dinotrainers, all aboard." The rhythm and word play are the fun here.
Stephanie ZvirinCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
