The Littlest Dinosaur

by Michael Foreman, Michael Foreman (Illustrator)

Overview

A tiny dinosaur is born to a family of rather huge dinosaurs and everyone is mystified about why it is so different. As the littlest dinosaur grows, it feels left out and at odds with the world of its huge family, until one day its very size is the thing that rescues them all.

A charming tale featuring every toddler's favourite - dinosaurs - with a sweetly told message about being happy being yourself.

Brilliantly read by Claire Skinner. Please note that audio is not supported by all devices, please consult your user manual for confirmation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781408839256
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	06/05/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD550L (what's this?)
File size:	88 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Michael Foreman has been working in children's books for many years. He has won the coveted Kate Greenaway Medal as well as many other awards, and some of his books have been established favourites for over thirty years. Michael divides his time between London and St Ives.

Editorial Reviews

The title character of this predictable story seems destined for a life on the sidelines-if one of his neighbors doesn't accidentally step on him first. After all, "he's no bigger than a dinosaur's toe," as his father puts it. But when the rest of the dinosaur herd gets trapped in the mud, the undersize hero enlists the help of another lonely outsider-a huge blue "long neck" he has glimpsed in the distance-and saves the day. The prolific author/artist's scenes showing the exchanges between the enormous and the tiny dinosaurs have an R.O. Blechman-like poignancy, and the mud incident stirs up some sense of urgency. But for the most part, the story is on autopilot as it moves toward the familiar wrap-up ("you may be the size of a bug, but you're as brave as a dinosaur one hundred times your size"). The prehistoric landscape is perfunctory, while the reptilian cast is blandly genial and generic. Ages 4-8. (May)

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Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 2- In a story reminiscent of William Steig's Amos and Boris (Farrar, 1971), a dinosaur emerges from his egg much later than his siblings and remains small. He is so tiny that the only safe place for him, away from crushing dinosaur feet, is atop a hill from which vantage point he spots a forlorn "Long Neck" in the distance. Unhappy because he is too small to do anything, the little guy wonders "how a dinosaur that big could possibly be sad." Bravery makes up for size, however, when his entire family becomes stuck in the mud. The little dinosaur risks a dangerous river crossing to bring the huge "Long Neck" to the rescue, and the two become fast friends. Foreman's mixed-media illustrations on full spreads feature some humorous dinosaur close-ups: mother tenderly fanning the wayward egg; father, so large his shape bleeds off the page, shouting, "Come on, egg! Do something!"; and dinosaur neighbors looming over the little one. Adults will enjoy their conflicting advice to the parents about how to hatch their egg. Children who are often left out of the fun because of their size will identify with this littlest dinosaur.-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT

School Library Journal

In this bland tale, a hatchling dinosaur barely bigger than one of his several siblings' feet gets a chance to shine when his entire family becomes mired in sticky mud. Timidly setting out on his own, he appeals for help to a humongous and clumsy "Long Neck," who galumphs to the rescue. The Littlest Dinosaur earns the praise of his erstwhile dismissive father, after which he and the now more self-confident Long Neck become the "greatest of friends." Ably underscoring their immense size differential, Foreman casts Littlest as a puny triceratops walking on two legs (his sibs walk on four, except when they're playing soccer), and colors the Long Neck a deep blue that makes him seem all the more massive. Still, next to the undersized but intrepid protagonists in Jean Willis's Cottonball Colin (2008), and Kevin Sherry's I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean! (2007), Littlest isn't going to make much of an impression. Nor will the routine plot or language. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews