How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?

by Jane Yolen, Mark Teague, Mark Teague (Illustrator)

Overview

How do dinosaurs say good night?

Brimming with humor and familiar good-night antics, here is a playful peek into the homes of dinosaur children and their parents at bedtime. Perfect for sharing and reading aloud, this is one nighttime book your own little dinosaur will want to read again and again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780590316811
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	03/01/2000
Series:	How Do Dinosaurs...? Series
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	13,988
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 12.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD350L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Jane Yolen is the beloved author of more than three hundred books for children and adults, including award-winning picture books, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Her How Do Dinosaurs... books have sold millions of copies and are international bestsellers. She regularly travels the globe speaking and teaching. Jane lives in Western Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland. You can visit her at janeyolen.com.

Mark Teague is the award-winning children's book author and illustrator of his own bestselling Dear Mrs. LaRue series, as well as The Sky Is Falling, The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf, The Tree House That Jack Built by Bonnie Verburg, and many other humorous picture books. In addition to his prized art for the How Do Dinosaurs... series, his illustrated novel, The Doom Machine, received excellent reviews. Mark lives in the Hudson River Valley with his wife and their two daughters.

Editorial Reviews

Booklist--April 2000

*Yolen, Jane. Illus. by Teague, Mark. How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? Apr. 2000. 40p.
Scholastic/Blue Sky,$15.95 (0-590-31681-8).
Age 4-6. The text is sweet and simple-just right for the wonderful pictures that really make this picture book spe- cial. Teague's art takes dinosaurs out of their usual con- text and plops them into bed (a rather comical fit) for a sleepy-time tale with a difference. Endpapers introduce the critter cast in all their gorgeous glory: tyrannosaurus rex, dimetrodon, and more, in vivid, yet still earthbound colors. Prima donna dinos, they yawn and fuss and throw toys about, procrastinating Oust like real kids) any way they can as human Moms and Dads, ready to put "baby" to bed, look on in various stages of impatience, anger, and surprise. The whimsical expressions on the "children's" faces give solid clues to the joke. By cleverly varying his perspectives, Teague adds dramatic punch to the pic- tures-readers watch from above as one behemoth baby whips its neck from side to side; they watch from below when another stamps its huge feet; and they're face to face with one snoozing T-rex hugging its teddy bear close. Alert lookers will notice the dino's name incorporated somewhere into each picture-pteranodon is neatly spelled out in blocks on the floor. A delight from start to finish; better buy more than one. -Stephanie Zvirin

From the Publisher

This beautifully illustrated tale shows that young dinos hit the hay just as kids do.

Parents Magazine

Set to a lilting bedtime beat, this rollicking rumpus of a tale ups the humor ante in a familiar scenario by substituting dinosaurs for children: "How does a dinosaur say good night when Papa comes in to turn off the light?" In a series of snappy lines, Yolen (Off We Go!, reviewed above; Queen's Own Fool, reviewed below) highlights a variety of postponement antics, some familiar (moping, sulking and demanding "one book more!"), some of a distinctly dinosaur variety--"Does a dinosaur slam his tail and pout? Does he throw his teddy bear all about?" Teague makes hay with the text, and as always his illustrations are a flurry of sly madcap inspiration. He chooses the winged Pteranodon (spelled out in ABC blocks on the bedroom floor) as the character who throws his teddy bear while flying about the room; for "Does he swing his neck from side to side" it's the snake-headed Apatosaurus who does the swinging. Under his sure direction, the sight gag never grows stale, and the sight of a T-Rex puckering up for a kiss, or an enormous Stegosaurus crammed into a tiny bed and daintily turning off the light switch with the tip of his tail, is sure to elicit giggles. As the endpapers reveal, there's a cast of 10 dinosaurs featured here, and sharp eyes will enjoy spotting their proper names tucked into each illustration. This rib-tickling bedtime fare packs plenty of appeal. Ages 2-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

"How does a dinosaur say good night when Papa comes in to turn off the light?" The brief, simple, rhyming text in large type explores the possibilities of a "dinosaur" kid's antics at bedtime. The reactions of a variety of human dads and moms to different dinosaurs demanding another book, a piggyback ride, or pouting or roaring, give humorous touches to the typical nightly struggles. Ten portraits of different dinosaurs, identified by name and engaged in a range of bedtime sports, decorate the endpapers hinting at the fun inside. Double-page scenes are full (really full), of solid, richly colored, sculpturesque creatures acting petulantly while a small father or mother stand, helpless, nearby. Imaginative details make believable the strange juxtaposition of dinosaur child and human parent. The reader who recognizes the behavior can't help but laugh. 2000, The Blue Sky Press/Scholastic Inc., Ages 3 to 6, $15.95. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Children's Literature

PreS-K-A rhyming, moral read-it-again tale. "How does a dinosaur say good night when Papa comes in to turn off the light?/Does a dinosaur slam his tail and pout?" Teague's wonderful rounded illustrations show 10 dinosaur species (all identified) as they settle down for the night in their human households. "Does a dinosaur stomp his feet on the floor/and shout: `I want to hear one book more?'" After demonstrating a variety of bad bedtime behaviors, the reptiles are then shown to be model youngsters. "They give a big hug, then give one kiss more." While the message is a little obvious, it is impossible to resist Teague's endearing dinos.-Kathleen Whalin, Greenwich Country Day School, CT Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

School Library Journal

Children will love the fact that the dinos tower over tiny parents, and that some of the prehistoric characters thrash, fuss, and misbehave as much as any I'm-not-ready-for-bed-yet kid. Real dinosaur aficiaonados will be pleased that the illustrations focus on the actual features of each beast, and that somewhere in each picture is correct name of the gigantic sleepyhead.
—The Christian Science Monitor

Karen Carden

Huge, fanciful dinosaurs confront their parents at bedtime in this playful romp. How does a dinosaur act when Papa comes in to say it's bedtime? "Does he slam his tail and pout? Does he throw his teddy bear all about?" Teague's paintings tell the story. First the father appears at the child's door and reacts with surprise, or anger, or shock to each described behavior. Then, the mothers take over. Of course, dinosaurs don't really act that way. They turn off the light, go quietly to bed, and give extra hugs and kisses to their parents. Teague's humorous, detailed, and colorful paintings give the context to Yolen's simple verse. Each huge dinosaur lives in a child's bedroom surrounded by familiar toys, books, and pets that sometimes bear the brunt of the dinosaur's temper. One fearful dog wraps his body around the bedpost when his Trachodon shouts for one more book. Dinosaurs tower over their bemused, bewildered, or distressed ethnically diverse parents who range in age from young to middle aged, just as in real life! After they learn the names of each of the species pictured on the endpapers, children may enjoy finding their names hidden in the illustrations each time a new species is introduced. Verse and illustration are beautifully matched in these bedtime scenarios familiar to all parents of young children. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews