Dinoblock by Christopher Franceschelli
DINOBLOCK
by Christopher Franceschelli with artwork by Peskimo
(Abrams Appleseed; $16.95, Ages 1 and up)
If you have a budding young paleontologist (and even if you don’t), this book’s inventive and colorful graphic design will delight and engage both children and adults.
Two children stop by the museum to “meet the dinosaurs” as the banner outside proclaims. Wait-don’t be so quick to turn the page: the first two pages fold out to form a four-page spread of the diorama-style exhibit.
But the children want to know:
WHO ARE THE DINOSAURS?
and
WHERE ARE THE DINOSAURS?
And the dinosaurs, peeking out from the jungle brush, call out:
HERE WE ARE
Pairs of two-page spreads combine to create clues and answers, comparing the characteristics of contemporary objects with dinosaur features. The design of the “clue” spread interacts with the “answer” spread and links the present to past.
A tall building is compared to the Sauroposeidon, a dinosaur that reached heights of 18 meters (almost 60 feet).
I AM TALL LIKE A SIX-STORY BUILDING …
The straight-edged tab on the shared page of the clue and the answer emphasizes both the building’s height and the long neck of the Sauroposeidon and gives children a peek into the stylized prehistoric environment.
In one two-page spread, the two friends float in a small boat over a large whale. The text of the clue reads:
I AM LONG LIKE A WHALE …
The next spread reveals the answer:
I AM A DIPLODOCUS.
In these two spreads, the shared tab follows the curving back and tail of both the whale and the diplodocus.
Not sure how to pronounce those complicated sounding dino names? Not to worry-the author provides a phonetic *translation” beneath the scientific name. Boy, I could have used this years ago when my sons and I struggled to pronounce names like MICROPACHYCEPHALOSAURUS (MY-cro-PACK-ee=SEFF-ah-low-SORE-us).
The final two pages fold out to reveal a four-page spread of the skeletons of each of the dinosaurs depicted in the book.
Simple words typed in capitol letters and some repetition in the sentences make the text accessible to toddlers and preschoolers. The diversity of the children and the dinosaurs they discover hint at the diversity of life and demonstrates that many children share the same wonder and amazement over dinosaurs.
Bold and colorful illustrations over two-page spreads, cheerful faces (Peskimo’s T-Rex is nothing like the raging monster in Jurassic Park), and the larger board book format guarantee interactivity. A block (buster) of a book (forgive the pun). Be prepared to read and play with this book more than once!
Christopher Franceschelli is the publisher and president of Handprint Books and the creator of other concept books like Alphablock and Countablock. See GRWR’s reviewer Rita Zobayan’s earlier review of Countablock, and check out School Library Journal’s interview with the author. Peskimo, a British husband and wife team, did the artwork on both books. Visit their website to see more of their nostalgic, retro artwork.
– Reviewed by Dornel Cerro