Dinosaur Kisses

by David Ezra Stein, David Ezra Stein (Illustrator)

Overview

WHOMP! An energetic young dinosaur figures out her own way to give a kiss in the latest from the creator of the Caldecott Honor–winning Interrupting Chicken.

For newly hatched dinosaur Dinah, the world is an exciting place. There is so much to see and do. She tries this — STOMP! And she tries that — CHOMP! Then she sees a kiss and knows just what she wants to try next. Who can she kiss? And after a few disastrous attempts, can she figure out how to give someone a kiss without whomping, chomping, or stomping them first? Young children will chuckle and cheer when Dinah finds just the right creature for her dinosaur kisses in this funny picture book from David Ezra Stein.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763661045
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	08/06/2013
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	429,430
Product dimensions:	10.56(w) x 9.58(h) x 0.37(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

Editorial Reviews

Chomp! Stomp! Whomp! Dinah is a wide-eyed, speckled baby dinosaur who wants to try everything, but finesse is not her strong point. She has stubby legs, an eager smile, and a matchless set of jaws. When two tiny creatures kiss each other at Dinah’s feet, Dinah wants to try, too. Her first victim gets a bite on the rear, the next one is flattened by her big dinosaur stompers, and the third gets... eaten. “Whoops,” says Dinah. “Not good.” Only when another baby dinosaur appears does Dinah find a playmate whose life she won’t endanger. “What’s kiss?” the other dinosaur asks, and the two explore affection—rather violently. Stein (Ol’ Mama Squirrel) draws Dinah with a simple, cookie-cutter outline, but her stricken expressions and forthright pursuit of love are plenty complex. Dinah’s swampy world features a sulfurous yellow sky and pint-size volcanoes that explode quietly in the distance. Kids will plunge into the whomping and chomping with glee, and they’ll understand a hero who means to be careful, but who ends up stomping all over things anyway. Ages 2–5. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

[Dinah's] attempts to do something that isn’t in her nature make for silly fun that’s likely to set preschoolers chomping and stomping around the room and maybe exchanging a few kisses of their own.
—The New York Times

Kids will plunge into the whomping and chomping with glee, and they’ll understand a hero who means to be careful, but who ends up stomping all over things anyway.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Preschool humor at its finest.
—The Horn Book

Infused with lively, attention-grabbing yellows and cheerful, stimulating oranges to match Dinah’s mood, the book is filled with thick black outlines and chunky lettering... The book’s dominating horizontal line, as we watch Dinah stomp along the horizon, makes for compelling page turns, also matching the great energy of the book. It’s big, loud fun for rowdy, raucous toddlers. Mwah!
—Bookpage

Newly hatched tots will delight in this affectionate, if totally silly story about lessons learned the hard way.
—East Bay Express - Books Inc. Kids

Stein makes great use of fun onomatopoeia to punctuate a prehistoric tale modern parents know all too well — children making earnest efforts to learn a new skill only to achieve hilariously disastrous results. ... [A] circle-time win for Stein, who’s proving to be a master at anthropomorphizing critters with perfectly overemphatic kid-like mannerisms.
—Booklist Online

From the Publisher

09/01/2013
PreS-K—Dinah, a baby dinosaur, is just out of her egg and ready to explore her green, swampy home. She learns to walk (stomp!) and to eat (chomp!), but the next thing Dinah sees (a kiss) she has to learn more about. She stomps all over looking for a special someone to kiss, making unsuccessful and funny attempts along the way. A fishlike creature gets a "whomp!" a dinosaur gets a "chomp!" and a reptilian critter gets a "stomp!" Realizing that she must pucker up politely to get her elusive kiss, Dinah finds her next would-be smooch, but she accidentally eats him. Finally, she befriends another baby dinosaur, and the two noisy buddies chomp, stomp, and whomp kisses to their hearts' content. Kids will love the cheeky but thoughtful expressions on Dinah's face, and the bottom-bitten dinosaur is sure to bring gleeful chuckles. Rendered in pen-and-ink, charcoal, watercolor, and crayon, the illustrations are bold, simple, and humorous. Dinah's big, goofy smile is sure to be reflected in the faces of her young admirers.—Alison Donnelly, Collinsville Memorial Public Library, IL

School Library Journal

Chomping and stomping come naturally to an exuberant dinosaur hatchling. Kissing? That takes practice. Emerging from her egg at a run, Dinah STOMPS her fat legs and CHOMPS weeds with her sharp teeth. Kissing, though, turns out to be a challenge. After sending one hapless victim flying with a head butt and another inadvertently down the hatch ("Whoops," she says. "Not good"), she returns to the hatchery…just in time to welcome a new sib with kisses--the sort that involve chomping, stomping and delighted head butts ("WHOMP!"). Drawn in thick outlines with a huge grin, wide eyes and a mottled yellow hide, Dinah stumps her way through minimally detailed prehistoric landscapes populated with anxious-looking smaller creatures. Children who groove on wimpy little butterfly kisses had best look elsewhere. A kissing cousin to Bob Shea's Dinosaur vs.… series. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews