DINOTHESAURUS: Historic poems and paintings by Douglas Florian

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Florian, Douglas. 2009. Dinothesaurus. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781416979784

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Author and illustrator, Douglas Florian, writes and illustrates a book about dinosaurs, focusing on the dinosaurs’ names and how they relate to the their personalities, eating habits, physical appearance, and intelligence (or lack thereof). Eighteen dinosaurs are delightfully described, plus a bonus poem on the inside flap of the book which serves as a preview of its contents. The beginning poem, “The Age of Dinosaurs,” provides information about the periods of time the dinosaurs lived. This helpful poem gives background to the poems living inside the book, as the eras are mentioned quite cleverly in the poems. In between the Minmi – MIN-me (named after the Minmi Crossing the Atlantic) and the Micropachycephalosarurs – mike-row-pack-ee-SEF-a low-SAW-rus (small thickheaded lizard), the reader will learn fun facts about the dinosaurs and their names.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

I have to begin by stating this book is fun, fun, fun to read. Even as an adult I caught myself reading a poem and taking my eyes right back to the top of the page to read it again (and again and again). They are that addicting. Florian’s poems are filled with rhythm and rhyme, the language that pleads to be read out loud. Even if you want to “read in your head,” your voice will simply come out of your mouth so your ears can hear these fun-packed, fact-crammed, pun-filled, humorous poems. They may inspire students to ponder the disappearance of dinosaurs and encourage young readers to ask questions, wonder, then bolt to a museum to learn more.

What child does not like to read BIG words? In this book there are plenty. Florian helps the reader by providing a pronunciation guide for each dinosaur and a plethora of context clues to help young readers figure out those “really big words.” This author is leading the pack by placing non-fiction features in topical collections. Florian includes a table of contents, pronunciation guides, as well as a “Gloss Arysaurus” at the end of the book. The glossary includes a factual paragraph about each dinosaur. Finally, this book includes a list of museums, including descriptions, and a bibliography with a list for further reading.

The illustrations in this book tempt me to run out and buy watercolors, colored paper, colored pencils, paper bags, and STAMPS to create collage dinosaurs. The details in Florian’s pictures are so plentiful; the reader will study each page for minute features before turning to the next. The illustrations are memorizing and capture the essence of the dinosaur poems, and more. Once this book is completed, the pages will likely be flipped over to be read (and studied) again.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Publishers Weekly Starred Review - Florian's free-flowing, witty collection of poems and collages about dinosaurs is a giganotosaurus delight—perhaps his best work ever. The poems marry facts with a poet's eye for detail… Art and text will encourage aspiring paleontologists and poets to parse these pages again and again.

Library Journal School Starred Review - Set in spreads of dreamy dinosaur art, these 20 playful paleontologic poems overflow with wit and useful information. Created on paper bags with a variety of media, this collage art expands on the humor found in the verses…This smart marriage of dinosaurs and poetry will delight a wide audience.

Booklist Starred Review - Florian, whose previous picture-book poetry collections have covered the animal kingdom, from dogs and cats to lizards and pollywogs, takes a few evolutionary steps back in this exuberant verse roundup of prehistoric creatures. As usual, Florian’s blend of irresistible wordplay and collage art will draw children. The gleeful twists of language evident in the title continue throughout each of the selections spotlighting different species.

Bank Street Best Books of the Year
Beehive Award Master List
Bill Martin Jr. Picture Book Award Nominee
Junior Library Guild selection
CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children's Book Council)
Great Lakes Great Books Master List
Kentucky Bluegrass Award Master List
NCTE Notable

5. CONNECTIONS

This is a great book to be read out loud. Children will likely feel pure delight after hearing these poems and then reading them on their own. Echo and choral reading will assist even the most reluctant readers to attempt these poems, and most likely be successful.

A fun and informative activity would be to have students choose a dinosaur, and write their own poems. Provide materials to illustrate their poems using similar methods to Florian’s. These poems might me turned into a class book for all to enjoy. It will likely be a class favorite.

Have students find resources listed in the back of Dinothesaurus to learn more about dinosaurs.

This website: http://www.simonandschuster.com/multimedia?video=27792680001 can be accessed to hear Douglas Florian read a poem from DINOTHESAURUS. He also tells us that humongous is one word he overuses and tries to use it sparingly in his book.

Florian’s website and BlogSpot are also interesting ways for children to learn more about this great author. They can be found at: http://floriancafe.blogspot.com/ and http://www.douglasflorian.com/.

Other books by Florian that students are likely to enjoy include include COMETS, STARS, THE MOON AND MARS: SPACE POEMS AND PAINTINGS, MAMMALABGILIA, LIZARDS, FROGS, AND POLLIWOGS AND INSECTLOPEDIA.