“When Oliver found his egg…” on the playground, mint-green backgrounds signifying Oliver’s flight into fancy slowly grow larger until they take up entire spreads Oliver’s creature, white and dinosaurlike with orange polka dots, grows larger with them. Oliver, of first-day-of-school alligator fame, is back, imagining adventures and still struggling to find balance between introversion and extroversion. Verse and illustration are beautifully matched in these bedtime scenarios familiar to all parents of young children. Dinosaurs tower over their bemused, bewildered, or distressed ethnically diverse parents who range in age from young to middle aged, just as in real life! After they learn the names of each of the species pictured on the endpapers, children may enjoy finding their names hidden in the illustrations each time a new species is introduced. One fearful dog wraps his body around the bedpost when his Trachodon shouts for one more book. Each huge dinosaur lives in a child's bedroom surrounded by familiar toys, books, and pets that sometimes bear the brunt of the dinosaur's temper. Teague’s humorous, detailed, and colorful paintings give the context to Yolen’s simple verse. They turn off the light, go quietly to bed, and give extra hugs and kisses to their parents. Of course, dinosaurs don't really act that way. First the father appears at the child's door and reacts with surprise, or anger, or shock to each described behavior. How does a dinosaur act when Papa comes in to say it's bedtime? “Does he slam his tail and pout? Does he throw his teddy bear all about?” Teague’s paintings tell the story. Huge, fanciful dinosaurs confront their parents at bedtime in this playful romp.
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