Dinos on the Go by Karma Wilson

Dinos on the Go by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Laura Rader

Lorelei's Rating: 3.5 stars

I was trying to write a bit this afternoon at a little table at our rented beach house. I asked my husband to watch the kids. He happily accepted, situating himself a room away from me, with a bunch of toys around him. On the table next to my computer was a stack of books. Within five minutes Lorelei was sitting across from me and Ben was sitting next to me, each with a book in their hands. It was cute, but I did want to get a little writing done, so I told Lorelei that she had to read to herself. She said okay, but then, after looking at each page for awhile asked me politely, "Mommy, which dinosaur is this?" or "Mommy, what is this word?" or "Mommy, will you read just this one part to me?" Clever girl.

I'm not a huge dinosaur person, but they are definitely a rite of passage for children, I think. I am sure I went through an interest in dinosaurs when I was a child--Mom, as my one faithful follower, is this true? I didn't expect Lorelei to be interested in them, and before her third birthday! Her decision to read Dinos on the Go today was helped by my husband's decision to turn on the cartoons earlier, just to see if there was anything good for her. There happened to be some dinosaur cartoon and she thought it was cute. So, now she can identify her T. Rex and Triceratops and Barosaurus. These are the dinos that Wilson chooses to include in her cute book, which I like but there are others of hers that I'm much crazier about.

This is a poem, which of course always makes me happy, and it is cleverly written and even more cleverly illustrated. What I like best about Wilson's writing and Rader's pictures are the things that they stick in for the older readers, parents included. For example, the sign on one truck is "Herb Ivore and Sons, Expert Gardening." Or the whole gist of the book--dinos are on the go because they're going to be extinct! Lorelei doesn't get that just yet, or the little jokes, but she does like how the barosaurus rides her bike (with a helmet--gotta love that nod to safety first) and the T. Rex barely fits on the sleeping berths on the train.

In all, a good book. But not one that we'll likely be checking out again and again from our library.