As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
32 pp.
| Candlewick |
May, 2023 |
TradeISBN 9781536226256$18.99
|
EbookISBN 9781536232110 $18.99
(2)
PS
How do you find something you can't see? A pigtailed girl in a yellow pith helmet explains how she lost her invisible dinosaur. "He had gotten REALLY dirty." A crayon drawing by the narrator shows her washing a muddy dinosaur-shaped figure. But once she hoses away the mud, the dinosaur disappears. Determined to find him, she makes a dino-load of PB&J sandwiches (his favorite snack) and leaves a trail of them, hoping to lure him back home. No luck, though the local wildlife is happy. She hangs "missing" posters, but a picture of an invisible dinosaur isn't very helpful. A series of three double-page spreads features more of the narrator's artwork showing how rain, snow, or a pile of leaves makes seeing the outline of her dinosaur easier--nicely hinting at how he's revealed a few pages later. The story's gentle pacing and effective page-turns help build suspense. Yoon's (Off-Limits, rev. 11/21) uncluttered mixed-media illustrations have a breeziness that matches the tone of the text, telegraphing to listeners that there's really nothing to worry about. If you know how to look, sometimes the impossible is possible.
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2023