Have You Seen My Invisible Dinosaur?

March 1, 2023
A child has lost their invisible dinosaur! With impeccable comedic timing, a small Asian-presenting child with pale skin and straight black hair tied into spiky pigtails explains their predicament. Their dinosaur had been dirty, but after a bath, he disappeared. Delicately rendered minimalist spreads in muted colors focus on the child, while bright scribbly crayon depictions bring to life their story: A hose sprays a dino who's mostly invisible against the white background except for brown "muddy" legs and belly. And once the bath is complete, there's no trace of a dinosaur left. The child tries some plans that don't work as intended: making piles of the dinosaur's favorite peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich (which other adorably quirky animals come to eat) and putting up "lost" signs (the rectangle traditionally reserved for a photograph is blank). They explain that the dinosaur would be easy to spot in rain or snow "or anything really," as crayon illustrations show raindrops and sleet creating a dinosaur-shaped negative space. But today is sunny and clear, and the dejected child trudges through a field of flowers and up a hill. But wait--dandelion fluff is falling onto a curved surface, but is it really a hill? The dinosaur's peanut butter-and-jelly-smeared snout gives him away, and the child's wide smile at their reunion is just as sweet. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A simple yet charming premise wonderfully executed. (Picture book. 3-7)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 13, 2023
How can one find something that one can’t sense? For this picture book’s narrator, the trouble begins when the invisible dinosaur of the title “had gotten REALLY dirty,” requiring a “big, BIG bath.” But mud made the dinosaur visible, and now that it’s clean, the animal is the very definition of whereabouts unknown. The child, who reads as East Asian and sports a big yellow sun hat, is a picture of industrious and tenacity, laying out a trail of jelly sandwiches (soon eaten by other creatures) and posting “Lost Dinosaur” signs. But they lament that on a “pretty and sunny day”—one without falling rain, snow, or leaves to outline the creature—discovery seems unlikely. Yoon (I’m a Unicorn) depicts forward-moving action with distinctly angular but softly textured, sunlit images composed mostly along a single, minimalist plane, while background information (depicting the ill-advised bath, for example) arrives via spreads ostensibly crayoned and annotated by the child. A joyful reunion ensues when the dinosaur’s jelly-stained mouth emerges from a meadow that seems to sparkle with flowers, proving that a best friend is usually right where one needs them to be. Ages 3–7. Agency: Rubin Pfeffer Content.

May 1, 2023
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. Kitty Flynn

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 1, 2023
Preschool-Grade 2 A child's invisible dinosaur has gone missing. The trouble begins after the mud-spattered dinosaur gets a bubble bath; the soiled stomach and legs had been the only visible parts of the pet, whereas a squeaky-clean invisible dinosaur could be hiding anywhere! After the child tries to no avail to coax it back with piles of jam sandwiches, "lost pet" posters go up (with the usual photo space hilariously left blank) but get no response. Inclement weather would help, as snow piles or puddled raindrops could indicate where an enormous dinosaur was standing. Alas, it's a beautiful sunny day in a dandelion-strewn field. But wouldn't you know it--the seeds floating through the air settle into a dinosaur-shaped outline, complete with a jam-stained snout at one end. The clever premise is carried out with heaps of humor and cheer, and the mixed-media illustrations are expressive and comical, including delightful spreads that appear to be the child's crayoned diagrams. A sweetly satisfying story with lots of laughs.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2023
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.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

December 8, 2023

PreS-Gr 1-Yoon skillfully spins an adorable tale about an imaginative child, taking readers on a humorous adventure as the child searches for a dinosaur who happens to be invisible. Children with overactive imaginations will easily identify with the struggle. The child explains that the dino got loose during bath time. Dino's favorite snack is prepared and signs declaring that the invisible dinosaur is lost are posted. It's all very valiant, but neither works. Then the child summons all the imaginative powers available. In this story, both detailed with the child's imaginings and intentionally sparse with mixed-media illustrations, readers will absorb a simple yet compelling journey. VERDICT A solid story time pick for preschoolers, or to use as a prompt for a delightful back-and-forth.-Jane Huh

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