Brontorina by James Howe; illus. by Randy Cecil.  Ages 2+.  Candlewick. Aug. 2010. 32 pages.  ISBN: 978-0763644376 $15.99

The Short:  This is a sweet book about good people working together to make a dinosaur’s dream to dance come true.  Brontorina dreams of being a dancer and her teacher takes her seriously and with her classmates works to find the best place for them to dance together.  We’ve read it many, many times and it is a consistent win.  We recommend it.

The Long:   I love reading about good people being kind to each other.  My son likes dinosaurs and dancing — so this combination was a hit.  We’ve had it for about three weeks now and it has been a consistent pick for him.  Each time we read it twice before moving on to another book.  He was quoting french dance terms after reading this book and you just can’t go wrong quoting french dancing terms at the age of two.  If you have a kiddo that enjoys either dinosaurs or dancing, then I have no doubt you’ll enjoy this book.

I do have to edit this book when reading it my son.  There are two little girls who make snarky comments about Brontorina not having the right shoes, etc.  and I ignore those people in life and in picture books.  The edits are easy for this book, I just don’t read what the girls say.  When my son gets a little older it won’t be a problem and will actually prove as a useful tool in teaching him to ignore (and not be one of those) people who stand around making snarky comments.

I love reading this book aloud to my son.  This story is a lot of fun and the tone and message is so positive.  The illustrations are beautiful and fun.  They give a lightheartedness and sweetness to the story.  We’ll be coming back to this book again and again.  I will do my best to instill a sense of determination in my son to go after what he wants and reading this book to him is one of my tactics while he’s young.

Where Obtained:  Public Library

FTC Disclosures:  Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” If you click on the link and purchase the book, I will receive an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Author/Illustrator Websites:

• James Howe: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/James-Howe/20539048/books
• Randy Cecil: http://www.randycecil.com/

Some of My Favorite Reviews of this Book:

• http://wordsbymom.com/authors/james-howe/brontorina/
• http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7636-4437-6
• http://firrkids.blogspot.com/2010/12/brontorina.html
• http://kerryaradhya.blogspot.com/2010/08/make-room-for-brontorina.html
• http://sweetonbooks.com/all-titles/514-brontorina.html
• http://childrensbookalmanac.com/2011/04/brontorina/

I’m linking this post up with Read Aloud Thursday hosted over at Hope Is the Word Blog.  This happens every Thursday and I hope you’ll link up a book you like to read aloud to your loved ones.