Some Dinosaurs Are Small

The well-paced text steadily and deliberately drives the image-drawn action forward, making for an engaging read-aloud that's sure to appeal to dinosaur lovers and their friends...An inventive idea cleverly executed.

Loosely sketched ink and watercolor illustrations enliven this quiet picture book, which humorously depicts dinosaurs' different sizes and shapes. A tiny, smiling green dino swings a yellow basket the same size as it, harvesting pineapples and pears to consume using "tiny flat teeth for munching through fruit and leaves." Tension mounts over the next few pages, however, as a trio of larger tyrannosaurids spot the small dino and give chase. Voake takes a bit of creative license regarding the food chain--the trio uses their "huge pointy teeth and sharp claws" to "take food from little dinosaurs"--before the narrative comes to a surprising, gratifying close. Text size coordinates with the size of each dinosaur, and Voake's pacing of both narrative and art is well matched. A fun romp for the youngest dinosaur fans. Ages 3-7. (Aug.)

PreS-Gr 2--There is everything to recommend this satisfying dinosaur tale. The art is gorgeous, art placement is perfect, the story is both scary and sweet, and kids are sure to love it. Some dinosaurs are small, and this little protagonist is going about the day gathering low lying fruits and leaves. As the title infers, some are small so there must be others that are big. Sure enough, in the background readers start to see hints in the art of big feet standing ominously nearby. The little dinosaur scurries off towards home when his basket is full, but it seems like he is weaving in and out of huge dinosaur legs. They are there with their pointy teeth and sharp claws and they are hungry. They are ready to pounce but the little dinosaur drops his basket and takes to the tree limbs to elude the giants below. The big dinosaurs give up their hunt for him abruptly because he runs to Mommy and she is an enormous Brontosaurus! This story is built on the inevitability of the food chain and also the safety that little ones find in their mother's presence. VERDICT The dinosaur crowd will welcome this addition to the shelf, and parents and teachers will love reading it to them again and again. A must-buy for all libraries.--Joan Kindig, James Madison Univ., Harrisonburg, VA