Lulu and the Brontosaurus

by Judith Viorst, Lane Smith (Illustrator)

Overview

Now in paperback, an illustrated chapter book from industry legends Judith Viorst and Lane Smith!

I’m gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, gonna, get
a bronto-bronto-bronto-bronto-saurus for a pet!

Lulu is so accustomed to getting what she wants that when her parents deny her birthday request for a brontosaurus, she throws a four-day temper tantrum and then storms off into the forest in search of the dinosaur she clearly deserves. Lulu isn’t particularly impressed with the snake, tiger, and bear she encounters, but then she finds him—a beautiful, long-necked, graceful brontosaurus. Mr. B completely agrees with Lulu that having a pet would be a wonderful thing, and Lulu thinks she’s gotten her birthday wish at last. Until she realizes that Mr. Brontosaurus thinks that she would make an ideal pet for him!

How will Lulu ever get out of this sticky situation without throwing a fit (Mr. B does not respond well to those), or using force (Mr. B is much too tall to bonk on the head with her suitcase), or smushing her pickle sandwich? Beloved children’s author Judith Viorst and Caldecott-winning illustrator Lane Smith offer a fresh and funny tale with several surprise endings!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416999621
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	04/03/2012
Series:	The Lulu Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.26(w) x 9.04(h) x 0.38(d)
Lexile:	790L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Judith Viorst is the author of the beloved Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, which has sold some four million copies; the Lulu books, including Lulu and the Brontosaurus; the New York Times bestseller Necessary Losses; four musicals; and poetry for children and adults. Her most recent books of poetry include What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About? and Nearing Ninety. She lives in Washington, DC.

Lane Smith is the author-illustrator of Grandpa Green and the illustrator of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, both Caldecott Honor winners. His books have appeared on the New York Times Best Illustrated list four times, and several of his books, including It’s a Book and John, Paul, George & Ben, have been New York Times bestsellers. He lives with book designer Molly Leach in rural Connecticut, and can be visited at LaneSmithBooks.com.

Read an Excerpt

There once was a girl named Lulu, and she was a pain. She wasn’t a pain in the elbow. She wasn’t a pain in the knee. She was a pain—a very big pain—in the butt.

Now, Lulu was an only child, and her mom and her dad gave her everything she wanted. And guess what? Lulu wanted EVERYTHING. Tons of candy. Tons of toys. Tons of watching tons of cartoons on TV. And if her mom and her dad ever said (and they hardly ever said it), “Sorry, darling, we think you’ve had enough,” Lulu would screech till the lightbulbs burst and throw herself down on the floor, and then she would kick her heels and wave her arms. And pretty soon her mom and her dad would say, “Well, just this once,” and let her have whatever it was she wanted.

© 2010 Judith Viorst

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

* Pitch perfect for the beginning chapter-book crowd." —Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW

"Plenty of child-friendly humor. . . . This inventive, lighthearted fantasy should be a solid hit with young readers looking for a lively first chapter book." —School Library Journal

“Quite clever” –Booklist

Editorial Reviews

* "Pitch perfect for the beginning chapter-book crowd." —Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW

"Plenty of child-friendly humor. . . . This inventive, lighthearted fantasy should be a solid hit with young readers looking for a lively first chapter book." —School Library Journal

“Quite clever” –Booklist

From the Publisher

Viorst, better known within the children's-book world for picture books than novels, flexes her muscles and introduces readers to delightfully obnoxious, fit-throwing Lulu, a spoiled only child prone to indulging in over-the-top temper tantrums to get what she wants. And what she wants now is a brontosaurus for her birthday. Her long-suffering parents finally put their collective feet down and refuse. Lulu's antics do no good this time, so she heads into the woods to find a dinosaur herself. In short chapters interspersed with funny narrative asides and whimsical black-and-white illustrations, readers follow Lulu as she heads into the woods, faces off with some ferocious animals and finally finds the brontosaurus, who decides he'd rather have Lulu as his pet than be hers! Lulu won't survive this adventure without some serious changes in her behavior. Dinosaurs, it turns out, are fond of good manners. The glib narrator provides not one but three endings for readers to choose from. Even so, they still won't have had enough of Lulu. Pitch perfect for the beginning chapter-book crowd. (Fiction. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews