Go! Go! Dino!: Ready-to-Read Level 1

by Kaz Windness, Kaz Windness (Illustrator)

Overview

Dinos of all shapes and sizes gather at the starting line for a big race in this adorable rhyming Level 1 Ready-to-Read from Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor–winning author-illustrator Kaz Windness.

Rolling reptiles, in your places!
Time to start the Dino Races!
When you hear the whistle blow...
Dino Racers, GO! GO! GO!

It’s an exciting day when a group of dinosaurs decide to race...but which dinosaur will come in first place? Readers will be charmed by the absolutely adorable illustrations, and this hilarious rhyming story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665944267
Publisher:	Simon Spotlight
Publication date:	05/07/2024
Series:	Ready-to-Read
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

Kaz Windness is the author-illustrator of picture books Swim, Jim! and Bitsy Bat, School Star, which received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and BookPage. She created the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Level 1 Ready-to-Read Graphics book Worm and Caterpillar Are Friends, which received a starred review and is a Junior Library Guild selection, and the Level 1 Ready-to-Reads Cat vs. Vac and Go! Go! Dino!. Kaz is also the illustrator of Ollie, the Acorn, and the Mighty Idea by Andrew Hacket and the author of When You Love a Book, illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee. When she’s not writing or illustrating books, Kaz teaches illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design and enjoys making deep-dish pizza. Kaz lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband, two children, and Boston terrier. Visit her at WindnessBooks.com.

Kaz Windness is the author-illustrator of picture books Swim, Jim! and Bitsy Bat, School Star, which received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and BookPage. She created the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Level 1 Ready-to-Read Graphics book Worm and Caterpillar Are Friends, which received a starred review and is a Junior Library Guild selection, and the Level 1 Ready-to-Reads Cat vs. Vac and Go! Go! Dino!. Kaz is also the illustrator of Ollie, the Acorn, and the Mighty Idea by Andrew Hacket and the author of When You Love a Book, illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee. When she’s not writing or illustrating books, Kaz teaches illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design and enjoys making deep-dish pizza. Kaz lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband, two children, and Boston terrier. Visit her at WindnessBooks.com.

Editorial Reviews

03/01/2024

PreS-Gr 1—Stegosaurus, Brontosaurus, T. rex, and many other species of dinosaurs decide to compete in a race. The "rolling reptiles" come wearing rollerblades, or on tricycles, bicycles, and scooters. A flying dinosaur with a whistle lets the dinos know it's time to line up and get ready; the whistle blows and the dinosaurs start down the track, each on wheels. While Brontosaurus stops to eat some plants, Stegosaurus speeds into first place. Then Brontosaurus decides to take a nap. But with so many small and gigantic dinosaurs speeding down the lane on wheels, it becomes a pileup when T. rex runs into the rest of the dinosaurs. Before they know it, they are all on the floor—except Stegosaurus, who speeds away to the finish line. Deciding that winning alone is no fun, Stegosaurus wheels back and carries the other dinosaurs to the finish line on his back. Brontosaurus wakes up just in time to cross the finish line with them, and the race is deemed a tie. With vibrant, colorful illustrations, this story teaches the valuable lesson that helping others when they're down is a good thing. VERDICT A delightful early reader, great for children's library collections.—Annmarie Braithwaite

School Library Journal

2024-03-23
This early reader follows four friendly-looking dinosaurs as they embark on a race.

A unicycling T. rex, a skateboarding Brontosaurus, a roller-skating Stegosaurus, and a tricycle-riding Triceratops (of course)—all wearing helmets, some with kneepads—compete in a competition that might not be exactly fair but is clearly fun. Apparently unaware of the fable of “The Tortoise and the Hare,” Brontosaurus stops off for a leafy lunch and then a nap. The race official, a whistle-wielding pterosaur, cries, “STOP! STOP! STOP!” but is unable to prevent a wildly pedaling T. rex from overrunning the smaller Triceratops. When their wheels bump, all three (awake) creatures land in a tangled heap. Momentarily, Stegosaurus has a free path to victory, but right before crossing the finish line, Stegosaurus thinks, “First is such a lonely place without friends to share the race” and turns around. The crash victims climb aboard Stegosaurus’ back and finish the race together. Such generosity elicits rousing cheers from the dinosaur spectators. Their noise wakes Brontosaurus just in time for her stretched-neck finish. It’s a four-way tie! Everyone is happy and eager to do it once again. The dinosaurs’ whole world glows snow cone blue and raspberry. The big-eyed cartoon figures sport colorful shirts, scales, and goofy expressions. The compositions are dynamic, the pace is fast, and the rhythms and rhymes are faultless and funny.

An irresistible, everyone-wins rhymefest. (Early reader. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews