It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a storybook of any sort, and while this one may not have much of a narrative, it’s more of the storybook persuasion than other books I’ve reviewed lately. Written and illustrated by Deborah Freedman, Tiny Dino stars a little hummingbird who attempts to convince its animal friends that it is indeed a dinosaur.
Throughout the book, the other animals keep claiming the hummingbird is too small to be a dinosaur, but the hummingbird counters with all the shared features that place it in the dinosaur family.
A crocodile is mistakenly referred to as a dinosaur by the other animals, but the croc and the hummingbird quickly correct them by pointing out that they are cousins on the archosaur family tree, and that the croc is not a dinosaur.
The story and pictures are cute, perfectly appropriate for its target audience of very young children, and it presents accurate information about dinosaur relationships as thoroughly as it can. In terms of format and execution, it reminds me a lot of Dinosaurs Can’t Roar!, though I like this book a little better. It’s not quite as effective at conveying the theme of nested hierarchies as Grandmother Fish, but then again few children’s books can hold a candle to that one!
All in all, I rather like Tiny Dino, enough to give it my Dino Dad Stomp of Approval. For more children’s books about feathered dinosaurs and the origins of birds, check out Dinosaur Feathers, Dinosaurs Are Not Extinct, and When Dinosaurs Conquered the Skies.
Dino Dad Reviews 