Never Follow a Dinosaur

by Alex Latimer

This clever picture book builds from one silly moment to another as two siblings convince themselves that the footprints they have discovered belong to a dinosaur.

Sally and Joe spot some strange footprints one afternoon. Who could they belong to? They're big, heavy, and squiggly... As this brother and sister pair follow the clues, the tales they tell themselves grow even more wild until suddenly the trail goes cold! Sally and Joe decide to set a trap, but are they ready to face what they'll find?

This quirky caper from Alex Latimer is a hilarious story-time read aloud. With bold visual storytelling, this intriguing mystery will test readers' deductive reasoning from start to finish.

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, Childrens, Storytime, Animals, Fiction, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

First published July 7, 2016

About the author

Alex Latimer lives near the border of a national park so when not writing or drawing, he spends his free time shooing baboons out of his lounge. The Boy Who Cried Ninja is his first book for children. He lives in South Africa.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe and Sally found some strange footprints in the kitchen floor, and all the evidence points to a hungry, heavy, dancing and swimming dinosaur. They have worked very hard building a perfect dinosaur trap. Will it work?

Lovely story with lovely characters. They know the footprints were made by a dinosaur despite their father saying dinosaurs are extinct, and they are confident of being capable of catching it if they succeed in making the perfect trap. So when the unthinkable happens none of them are surprised. They knew it all along, didn't they? Wonderful illustrations and refreshing text make a funny story about curiosity, perseverance and imagination.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Find more children's book reviews in Reviews in Chalk

[Marjolein (UrlPhantomhive) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

I'm unable to resist a book about dinosaurs, at the same time, I also believe that the love for dinosaurs can not be taught too early. So, this picture book about two siblings looking for dinosaurs after they find mysterious tracks is right up my alley.

It was a quick and cute read. There is some real mystery going on and the drawings are nice. I'm positive I would have really liked it as a child.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Sally and Joe find some footprints one day, they conclude that they must have been made by a dinosaur, and set out to track down the creature responsible. Each new clue leads them to assign a new characteristic to their quarry, until they're convinced they're trailing a hungry, heavy, swimming, dancing dinosaur with a headache and a sore foot. But is it safe to follow a dinosaur...?

The first picture-book I have picked up from South African author/illustrator Alex Latimer, Never Follow a Dinosaur pairs an entertaining adventure story with bright, colorful artwork. I appreciated the twists and turns here - will the dinosaur eat Sally and Joe, if they finally catch up to him? - and imagine young listeners will as well. Recommended to all young dinosaur lovers, and to anyone looking for stories about imaginative children and their adventures.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boo! I wrote a review and it went chasing that dinosaur because it's not here anymore. Both my son and I loved this mystery of Jurassic proportions. I was convince it was really a duck but, apparently, I shouldn't quit my day job for a life of super sleuthing. The artwork and the storyline were everything I was hoping for when I found this gem at the library. I think both boys and girls would love this.

[Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: NEVER FOLLOW A DINOSAUR

Join an imaginative sister and brother who combine imagination and logic to track a dinosaur, using footprints, discerning size, shape, weight and pressure. This cooperative pair of siblings design and construct a "dinosaur trap." This is an illustrated story which will appeal to young readers and to the younger "read to me" set.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandson loves dinosaurs and we had fun reading this book together. He enjoyed looking at the pictures and guessing what the next description would be. The story follows a building sequence that would be excellent for vocabulary development as well as teaching about descriptive words and encouraging students to add adjectives and adverbs to their writing. The other thing that this book shows is how to draw conclusions and make inferences, something we are always trying to teach children. The story is done in a fun way so that children do not even realize they are learning something. The illustrations are cute, especially how they add to dinosaur after each new description is explained. The footprints run along the bottom of the page and point in the direction one would read text so the reader is invited to turn each page to see what will happen next. My grandson giggled as he saw what the dinosaur looked like on each successive page until the ending which even surprised me. A good mentor text for classrooms and a fun read for young children.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 4 STARS
2016; Peachtree Publishing Company
(Review Not on Blog)

Joe and Sally find some mysterious footprints and wonder who could have made them. They start to follow the footprints and look at the clues around to solve the mystery. A fun creative mystery book for all ages. It is one you will want to read out loud!

***I received an eARC from EDELWEISS***

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the children's deductions, and the mental picture of the dinosaur the build. And what a clever ending!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cute. May work for storytime if I clip some pages to make it shorter.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I (actually my roommate Jodi) picked this up for me at ALA2016. It is an unbound galley and I finally read it today. I thought it was really cute. When two siblings find what they believe are dinosaur tracks, they start following clues but periodically the footsteps change and each time they do, the siblings make up a plausible- to them - reason. When the tracks disappear, their parents tell them that they shouldn't be following hungry dinosaurs anyway. But the kids are more ingenious than that and set a trap. It is a cute ending and adorable illustrations. Dinosaur fans of all genders and ages (though it is designed for the pre-k - 2 set) will get a good smile.

[raccoon reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book! Woods seemed very interested in the small details of the lovely drawings. He lost interest before the book was over and asked for a different book. I'm not holding it against the book though. If he actually disliked it he wouldn't have let me get more than a page or two in. I wish we owned it in print because I think it would go over better with him. I'm also really unsure (because we got an e-book version) if this is a picture book, or an early reader book. We read it on my kindle app and it formatted incorrectly, making a few weird incomplete or run on sentences, and pictures matching up oddly. It added to a bad reading on my part because I was like "uh, what?" mid story, so I think if I had a correct version in print he'd enjoy it more. I'd still recommend checking it out from your local library if they have it. Very cute.


Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Debbie Tanner]

This one would be great for drawing conclusions or inferring.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One afternoon, Joe and his sister Sally spot a strange set of footprints. After close examination, Joe is sure they are tracks from a small dinosaur. So what do children with imaginations do? Follow the tracks, of course. The footprints lead to their pet’s bowl: an empty bowl. So it must be a very hungry dinosaur the two conclude. They continue to follow the footprints into the yard and notice how deep the prints are. So it must be a heavy dinosaur. As they continue to follow prints they end up concluding that the tiny prints must be from a hungry, heavy, swimming, dancing dinosaur with a headache and a sore foot and wings!” Will they ever find the animal that made the prints?

Cons: The story is cute but the ending was a bit of a letdown.

Pros: A fun, silly story about children’s imagination.

[Calla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a brother and sister, Sally and Joe, as they discover mystery footprints. Of what they think is a dinosaur. Throughout the book they are describing characteristics of the dinosaurs based off of the hints he leaves behind!

This book is really cute, I like how they ended it. I was kinda nervous that they were gonna catch him or just disappeared. So I’m happy that the author put a twist on it as to why the dinosaurs needed their help!

I would use this book in my classroom when we ere talking about adjectives. On each page the author adds a new descriptive word that is bolded for the context of the page. I think this is super helpful, especially when kids are struggling with what words to use. For example: on of the pages the dinosaur walked through the water so the author used “so it’s a hungry, heavy, SWIMMING dinosaur”

[Ireland]

Title: Never Follow A dinosaur Author: Alex Latimer

Plot: Two children follow a dinosaur and believe that he is doing all of these crazy things but eventually he disappeared and the parents told the children to never follow a dinosaur but the \y disobey the parents and eventually are taken away by it and taken to its home to make cupcakes and desserts.

Characters: The little boy and girl are very ambitious in finding the dinosaur and also very disobedient in the fact that they didn't follow their parent's rule.

Conflict: The children go against their parent's wishes of never following a dinosaur and still follow it.

Theme: Never follow a dinosaur
Authors style: The author's style was a very lighthearted and fun tale of dinosaurs and children.
Point of view: The author uses the second person
I love how the layout of the book uses two pages for each illustration and commentary to allow kids to be able to have a wide view of the picture.

Standards: RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
Assessment: I believe this book is very well written for many ages as it has lessons inside of it and many different types of lessons for your classroom that could greatly help your students.

[Lindsey Lawntea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Siblings Joe and Sally find an odd set of footprints and follow them, believing they are tracking a dinosaur. The dinosaur they are imagining gets sillier and sillier, and they decide to build a trap to catch it. Will they find the dinosaur? Will it be friendly or will it snatch them up? The answer will surprise you! The illustrations are cute and hilarious and the story is really fun and simple.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

[Rachel Crowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about two children, Sally and joe. They find a set of foot prints one day that were going through their house. So just like every kid they went into deceptive skills to see what they could find. They started to think that it could be a dinosaur! They pictured a lot of images in their head and pictures the dinosaur dancing and cooking and swimming! The kids had lots of laughs that day. This book would be a good book to show the children because imagination it a great piece of the mind and it always help shape their mind.

[Alexis Zappitelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a cute read, involving characters, Sally, and Joe. Sally and Joe discover mysterious footprints all throughout their house that they think might be from a dinosaur. They go on journey to follow them to figure out what they really are from, even though their parents do not recommend them doing so. Joe and Sally make a trap to discover why the cat food keeps disappearing. This story is filled with humor that makes it very enjoyable to read.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a library book that isn't as popular with my 4-year-old son as I thought it would be. It might just be that we have too many other books on loan at the present and this one falls by the wayside. I enjoy it because of the mystery. There is a big production in tracking down a dinosaur which is eventually fruitful. But the moral of the story is "be careful what you wish for because you might just get it."

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s the kids new favourite - a compliment in itself but I didn’t mind as it didn’t tire to read it lots. I adore the illustrations, the light use of repetition and building train of adjectives to describe the dinosaur. I love the little prince-esque exploration of childlike imagination and investigation. Very enjoyable.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually pretty cute. Kids are following "dinosaur tracks", and when they see the tracks do certain things, they try to guess what the dinosaur was doing in that area. Their guesses build upon themselves (He's a "hungry, heavy, swimming, dancing dinosaur with a headache and a sore foot" by the end), and they lay a trap to try to catch the dinosaur, but he escapes.

[Jaroslav Kacmar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Alex Latimer's both drawing and story style, but while the book starts really good and it has some nice ideas, the ending is little bit disappointing (although it's surprising in an unexpected way).

[Lauri Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two kids follow dino footprints through their house and yard and imagine what the dino was doing as the footprints changed. (illustrations show both real life and their imagination) When the tracks stop, they build a fabulous dinosaur trap

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was funny and a little unexpected. A boy and a girl see odd tracks on the ground and think they see a dinosaur with all kinds of problems. Their parents dismiss their theory. I enjoyed the ending.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the pictures and the reasoning and logic skills used in this book. But the ending left me wanting. "Dinosaurs are extinct and you shouldn't follow them anyway!" Thanks, Good advice!

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very hard to follow ending. I loved the reasoning that characters made to figure out what kind of animal made the footprints. But the ending left me scratching my head

[Mollie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a very fun, imaginative book! Sally and Joe imagine what kind of creature makes the footprints they decide to follow. The kids will love the repetition and exciting conclusion.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This silly themed picture book follows a brother and a sister as they track a dinosaur and imagine the dinosaurs day by what its footprints. preschool and up for humor.

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story, repeats and adds to each line based on observation, funny.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly