On an otherwise boring errand day with his mother, a boy notes an interesting sign at the bakery: "BUY A DOZEN, GET A DINOSAUR." Sure enough, as they walk out with their box of doughnuts, the lady behind the counter brings out a free dinosaur—a prodigious green triceratops that follows the boy to the doctor's. Today, instead of getting a sticker after his checkup, the boy is elated to receive a stegosaurus. His mom does not look amused. By the time the boy gets home, he has acquired two additional dino pets: a pterosaur and a little hadrosaur. What could be better? David Small's reptile-infused watercolors are plenty fun, and the matter-of-fact narration will get listeners pining for and drawing their own take-home creatures. If you find the notion of reptiles around the house less than inspiring, note how the boy's mom gets them to help with the chores. Ask your children to speculate on how a dinosaur might make itself useful around the house. Pull out a book on real dinosaurs like Peter Dodson's An Alphabet of Dinosaurs so they can compare them to the dinosaurs in the story.


Themes: DINOSAURS. HUMOROUS FICTION. MOTHERS AND SONS.