Publisher's Weekly Review
"Dinos rock and dinos roll./ Dinos stomp, and dinos stroll," Wallmark begins in this infectious picture book. "All the dinos on the street/ boogie to that funky beat," reads the next spread, and the narrative continues in couplets that match tempo as the dinosaurs dance around town, sing in onomatopoeia, form a band, and play instruments, until the party winds down as exhaustion overtakes them and they all trudge to their apparently communal home: a long hall packed with two parallel rows of beds. A variety of expressive, animation-style dinosaurs, boldly colored and dressed in multipatterned pajamas--onesies and long-sleeves, nightcaps and slippers--groove on each page, with an inviting array of warm digital textures by Robertson adding depth to each spread. Short, bouncy rhymes and energetic art will make this celebratory, familiar book a bedtime readaloud staple for dancers and dino-lovers both. Ages 4--8. (Oct.)
Kirkus Review
In a rollicking romp, dinosaurs in pajamas and onesies gather to get down, then lie down. "Dinos roar, and dinos shriek. / Dinos boom, and dinos squeak. // Dinos singing extra loud / rush to join the dino crowd." In cadences reminiscent of Paul and Henrietta Stickland's classic (and sadly out-of-print) Dinosaur Roar! (1994), dinos of diverse species march into a park to swing and shake to the "rocking sound" of a prehistoric dance band…until the sun goes down, and all trail off to snoozeland: "Snug in bed, / they dance no more. // Fast asleep, / the dinos snore." The light may dim, but the intensity of Robertson's palette doesn't as he depicts in loud hues stampedes of hustling herbivores and cavorting carnivores rushing along a small-town street, boogeying to the beat, gradually winding down, and ending up snuggled beneath cozy coverlets in a dino-dormitory. Even by the end the energy level may be a bit on the high side for an effective bedtime read-aloud, but it'll serve as a welcome alternative after the quadrillionth reading of Sandra Boynton's Dinosaur Dance! (2016) or as a quick charmer in a dinosaur- or dance-party--themed daylight storytime. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Who wouldn't gladly boogie down to bed with, say, a toothy T. rex? (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
