Syd Hoff's Danny and the Dinosaur and the New Puppy

Reviewed by: Deidre Walsh - Goodall Memorial Library, Sanford, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 7, 2015

Review

New stories for the classic, Danny and the Dinosaur, but written and illustrated by different author/illustrators. But these new books stay true to Hoff's style. The new illustrations are done on Photoshop and they compliment the text very well. Danny has a new puppy, but his friend Dinosaur begins to feel a bit left out. So instead of ignoring his old friend, Danny finds a way that he, his new puppy and Dinosaur can all be friends and hang out together. This is best for confident beginning readers due to more text, longer sentences and not a lot of sound repetition. Parents who grew up reading Danny and the Dinosaur would enjoy reading this to their kids/grand kids. It would also work as an introduction to friendship, kindness and inclusion of all types of friends. Pair with Mo Willems' "Can I Play Too?" and "A Big Guy Took My Ball". This is a solid story about friendship. The only weakness I can come up with is how to explain to a child that a dinosaur can "live" in a museum and come and go as he pleases. Fine addition to most beginning reader collections.

Overall Book Score: very good