Review Detail

THIS IS NOT A DINOSAUR! is an adorable and silly rhyming picture book. The book shows a dinosaur (who is NOT a dinosaur) and describes it by the things it is doing, such as "a clever-magic-trick-osaur" and "a supersonic-kick-osaur."

What I loved: This is such silly fun with the (clearly a) dinosaur doing all sorts of things with a young boy, including brushing teeth, climbing a mountain, and traveling back in time. Children will definitely find a lot to giggle about along the way. The rhythm of the text is perfect, with the names being about the same length and rhyming as you go. It's a great story to read aloud, and of course, to hear. The book comes with a QR code that can be scanned for an audiobook as well, for times when caregivers are unable to read it themselves.

The illustrations are full of color and capture the story perfectly. The friendship between the boy and dinosaur are apparent throughout with plenty of fun images to explore. Combined with the writing, this is perfect for preschoolers and young elementary school readers.

What left me wanting more: As a super small thing, there are a few pages where the reading order is not immediately apparent (top across and then bottom across or left page then right page) due to the way the font lines up. Once caregivers get into the rhythm of the book and get to used it, this small challenge goes away.

Final verdict: THIS IS NOT A DINOSAUR! is a delightfully silly and charming picture book that young readers will love.