FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Jane Yolen and Mark Teague follow up their blockbuster hit How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? with this hilarious, rhymed read about ancient -- and under-the-weather -- reptiles.

When a dinosaur gets sick, taking care of it might be touch-and-go. If it comes down with the flu, will "he whimper and whine in between each Atchoo" like the book's sour Styracosaurus sitting on the nurse's table? Or maybe he'll "flip off his covers with tooth and with tail" like the nonchalant, bedridden Euoplocephalus. He could also let out a Dilophosaurus-sized dramatic wail or "drag his feet till his mom is in shock," but the truth is, with some TLC from Mom and Dad, little Velociraptors will be happily using hankies and saying gentle good nights before drifting off to sleep.

From pouting Parasaurolophuses to tricky Tropeognathuses, Yolen and Teague prove that laughter is the best medicine. Clever rhymes make this ideal for reading aloud to any recovering little dino, while drily humorous illustrations will keep parents and kids scouring pages for dinosaur names and subtle, knowing expressions. The next time your child is stuck in his or her sickbed, pull out this book and let the giggles go to work! Matt Warner

ANNOTATION

Describes what a young dinosaur should do in order to quickly get over being sick.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

What if a dinosaur catches the flu?Does he whimper and whine between each "At-choo"? Does he drop dirty tissues all over the floor?Does he fling his medicine out of the door? Just like kids, little dinosaurs hate being sick. And going to the doctor can be pretty scary. How DO dinosaurs get well soon? They drink lots of juice, and they get lots of rest; they're good at the doctor's, 'cause doctors know best. As in their previous book, Yolen and Teague capture children's fears about being sick and put them to rest with playful read-aloud verse and wonderfully amusing pictures.

FROM THE CRITICS

The New York Times

Children are also likely to enjoy it. The lesson may be lost on them, but it's hard to go wrong with dinosaurs. Especially when they are trashing the joint. — Adam Nagourney

Publishers Weekly

Those boisterous, larger-than-life stars of How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? are back, but this time they're a little under the weather. "What if a dinosaur catches the flu?/ Does he whimper and whine in between each Atchoo?" In a series of rollicking rhymes, Yolen explores a number of possible naughty scenarios for the ailing beasties ("Does he hold his mouth closed when he's told, `Open wide'?/ Does he scream?/ Is he mean?/ Does he run off and hide?"), before demonstrating how well-behaved they really are ("He drinks lots of juice,/ and he gets lots of rest./ He's good at the doctor's,/ 'cause doctors know best"). Teague's droll artwork heightens the humor of Yolen's light verse. As in their first collaboration, he wrings every last drop of comedy from the matter-of-fact presentation of humans with dinosaur offspring. Harried-looking parents tote steaming bowls of soup to their exotic progeny, who languish in bed with coloring books and crumpled tissues, their enormous tails draped across bedroom floors littered with absurdly tiny sports shoes, backpacks, hockey jerseys and the like. Endpapers serve up a rogue's gallery of the tongue-tickling cast, including bedridden Tropeognathus, Tuojiangosaurus and Dilophosaurus. For dinosaur fans of all ages, this inspired silliness is just what the doctor ordered. Ages 2-up. (Feb.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-In this humorous look at surviving a cold, several sniffling dinosaurs display both negative (hiding from the doctor) and positive (willingly taking medicine) behaviors. Teague sets his colorful creatures solidly in the human world and his amusing artwork makes the message easy to swallow. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Repeating the winning formula of How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? (2000), Teague supplies art for Yolen¿¿¿s sprightly ditty on proper behavior while under the weather. Spread- and eye-filling domestic scenes, in which all the children are replaced by humongous, comically fretful, precisely detailed dinosaurs are the perfect prescription for the crankily bedridden. "What if a dinosaur / catches the flu? / Does he whimper and whine / between each Atchoo? / Does he drop / dirty tissues / all over the floor? / Does he fling / all his medicine / out of the door?" The dinos are specifically identified with cunningly placed labels within each double-paged spread and, on priceless endpapers, in a visual key of scaly, bedridden "patients." Yolen reinforces the message with more direct instructions¿¿¿"He drinks lots of juice and he gets lots of rest. / He¿¿¿s good at the doctor¿¿¿s / ¿¿¿cause doctors know best"¿¿¿and closes with a get-well wish. This salutary combination of savvy advice and sidesplitting art belongs next to every sickbed. (Picture book. 6-8)