Book Review: Dino-Halloween

Dino-Halloween
By: Lisa Wheeler
Reviewed by: Mary Lanni

Leaves are falling, and the days are getting shorter and colder—Halloween is coming soon! The Dino friends are very excited for the Halloween season. They go together to select the perfect pumpkins from the pumpkin patch; some find their pumpkins right away, while others agonize over the myriad options. Then, the dinosaurs brave the haunted house, with its spooky inhabitants and hair-raising scares. As Halloween gets closer, the dinosaurs work together to assemble their perfect costumes in time for the big Halloween bash. Finally, it is the time everyone has been waiting for: trick-or-treating! Striking out together, the Dino friends traverse the neighborhood, collecting treats of all kinds throughout the evening. Emptying their bags of candy into their bellies, they somehow find themselves thinking about the next delicious holiday – Thanksgiving! Fans of the Dino holiday books will enjoy this Halloween addition. Like the others, this book is written in rhyming couplets interspersed with truncated names of the featured dinosaurs. These dinosaur names are typed in differing colors and bold text to help readers distinguish them from the other words. Preschool and young elementary school-aged readers will appreciate the sing-song rhythm of the story, despite the occasional hiccup in pacing. Richly-colored, digitally-created illustrations form the backdrop of each page, mirroring the illustrative style of the other books in this series. Viewing beloved dinosaurs in familiar human experiences makes the story accessible to young readers, especially those who love dinosaurs already. Children will want to read this book frequently, and it will no doubt inspire ideas for Halloween-themed activities as the holiday approaches. This is a fun and friendly addition to Halloween read-aloud collections for young children.