Dino-Baseball
(Libby/OverDrive eBook)

Following Dino-Hockey (2007) and Dino-Soccer (2009), Wheeler's latest dino-sports story heads to the baseball diamond, where two teams of prehistoric athletes face off: the Green Sox herbivores and Rib-Eye Reds, including celebrity carnivores like T. rex. Once again, the play-by-play action in the acrylic paintings and the rhyming text ( Green Sox need to change the score. / Their only hope? Apatosaur! ) will captivate young baseball fans, while the humor in each incongruous scene will widen the book's audience to sports-ambivalent kids. A final spread hints at the series' next installment: Buy your tickets at the court / for Dino-Hoops next season's sport! --Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2010 Booklist

Wheeler and Gott already proved they have a winning formula with Dino-Hockey (2007) and Dino-Soccer (2009), and there's plenty for dinosaur/sports fanatics to enjoy in this latest installment (the final page hints at a basketball follow-up). It's a beautiful day in Jurassic Park (ballpark, that is), and the herbivores and carnivores are taking the field for the season's final game. The crowd is enthusiastic-and similarly extinct. Wheeler's sturdy, concise couplets provide a nicely percussive play-by-play: "Stego rumbles down the line./ Compy calls, ‰This one is mine!'/ Gloves the ball. Throws him out./ That's what baseball's all about!" (The dinosaurs' nicknames are set in contrasting type; a list of their full names can be found in team rosters displayed on the Jumbotron on the first page). Gott nails the drama of high-stakes game with a series of skewed perspectives and never overplays the comedy-his dinosaurs, with their imposing heft and improbably balletic grace, are more than capable of conveying the sublime absurdity of it all. Ages 5-9. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

PreS-Gr 2-In this third book about the Rib-Eye Reds (carnivores) and Green Sox (herbivores), the teams are all over the diamond playing fast-action baseball. The rhyming text sweeps youngsters through the game with appropriate baseball idioms peppered throughout. Wheeler includes on-the-field plays as well as typical baseball-crowd fun like a manager's tantrum, a seventh-inning stretch, and a visit to the snack bar. Gott's illustrations are masterful at catching the leaping, running action of the battling behemoths and giving each spread a stop-action, "you are there" feel. The final page promises a rematch on the basketball court in the next book. Libraries looking to satisfy dinosaur lovers as well as sports enthusiasts will find this title an easy sell.-Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Using the same formula as in Dino-Hockey and Dino-Soccer, Gott's energetic illustrations and Wheeler's verse (some rhymes are a stretch) depict a baseball game played by dinosaurs. Baseball and dinosaurs--two perennially popular topics for picture books--are a winning combination, but, like a game that goes into extra innings, the book sometimes drags. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Following Dino-Hockey (2007) and Dino-Soccer (2009), Wheeler's latest dino-sports story heads to the baseball diamond, where two teams of prehistoric athletes face off: the Green Sox herbivores and Rib-Eye Reds, including celebrity carnivores like T. rex. Once again, the play-by-play action in the acrylic paintings and the rhyming text ("Green Sox need to change the score. / Their only hope? Apatosaur!") will captivate young baseball fans, while the humor in each incongruous scene will widen the book's audience to sports-ambivalent kids. A final spread hints at the series' next installment: "Buy your tickets at the court / for Dino-Hoops—next season's sport!" Copyright 2010 Booklist Reviews.

Apparently unfazed from their no-holds-barred battle in Dino-Hockey (2007), these extinct athletes strap on their cleats to settle their grudge on the soccer field. Once again, they are divided into carnivore/herbivore teams—the Biters versus the Grazers—and Wheeler even goes so far as to include rosters and positions (Gallimimus as Midfielder, T. Rex as Striker). Pachycephalosaurus uses his domed skull to head-butt a shot, and a "dino fight" leads to dual red cards. That's about it for the sports lessons, but Wheeler sneaks in dino-facts with nearly every bounce of the ball; as the tiny Lesothosaurus scrambles around the opposing behemoths, Wheeler writes: "Leso traps it with his feet. / Although he's small, / his moves are sweet." Gott's busy, gregarious art is humorously consistent, with team flags and jerseys giving the sense that this world, silly as it is, has been thoroughly envisioned. The shocker ending—the Grazers lose due to a grass-munching goalie—is ameliorated somewhat by a teaser of the next sport on deck. (That's a hint.) Copyright 2009 Booklist Reviews.

Wheeler and Gott already proved they have a winning formula with Dino-Hockey (2007) and Dino-Soccer (2009), and there's plenty for dinosaur/sports fanatics to enjoy in this latest installment (the final page hints at a basketball follow-up). It's a beautiful day in Jurassic Park (ballpark, that is), and the herbivores and carnivores are taking the field for the season's final game. The crowd is enthusiastic—and similarly extinct. Wheeler's sturdy, concise couplets provide a nicely percussive play-by-play: "Stego rumbles down the line./ Compy calls, 'This one is mine!'/ Gloves the ball. Throws him out./ That's what baseball's all about!" (The dinosaurs' nicknames are set in contrasting type; a list of their full names can be found in team rosters displayed on the Jumbotron on the first page). Gott nails the drama of high-stakes game with a series of skewed perspectives and never overplays the comedy—his dinosaurs, with their imposing heft and improbably balletic grace, are more than capable of conveying the sublime absurdity of it all. Ages 5–9. (Apr.)

PreS-Gr 2—In this third book about the Rib-Eye Reds (carnivores) and Green Sox (herbivores), the teams are all over the diamond playing fast-action baseball. The rhyming text sweeps youngsters through the game with appropriate baseball idioms peppered throughout. Wheeler includes on-the-field plays as well as typical baseball-crowd fun like a manager's tantrum, a seventh-inning stretch, and a visit to the snack bar. Gott's illustrations are masterful at catching the leaping, running action of the battling behemoths and giving each spread a stop-action, "you are there" feel. The final page promises a rematch on the basketball court in the next book. Libraries looking to satisfy dinosaur lovers as well as sports enthusiasts will find this title an easy sell.—Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI

Gr 1–3—Once again Wheeler and Gott have teamed up for an action-packed sports extravaganza. The Grazers, in gold, take on the blue-uniformed Biters in a rough-and-tumble soccer match. Cheered on by their enthusiastic and colorful fans, the vegetarian and meat-eating dino players pass, steal, and trap the ball as they travel up and down the field. Each exciting play is recounted in rhyming verse with the names of the dinosaurs printed in the appropriate team color to indicate whether they are herbivore or carnivore. The play-by-play commentary is sprinkled with terms like "check," "spike," and "dribble," which will resonate with young soccer players. As the game progresses, the competition is fierce and the score teeters back and forth. At the end of the day, the Biters prevail, but the vanquished Grazers refuse to give up. Soon they will meet their opponents on the baseball field for a spirited game of Dino-ball. Gott's vibrant illustrations increase the suspense and fast pace of the rollicking narrative. The expressive faces of the players and the frenetic energy of the pictures add a bit of humor to the story. Sports fans and dinosaur lovers will delight in this follow-up to Dino-Hockey (Carolrhoda, 2007).—Linda L. Walkins, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, MA