Dinosaur Woods: Can Seven Clever Critters Save Their Forest Home?

by George McClements

Rojo and his pals have a problem: The forest where they live is about to be torn down and replaced with a Plas-Tic Trees factory. The animals are at a loss, until they come up with a plan to scare away the builders using sticks, burlap, power tools—and a gigantic dinosaur. Have these seven endangered friends got what it takes to save their home? Turns out they do . . . in ways they never expected.

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

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 9, 2009

Reviews

[Andrea]

This is one of my favorite reads. It starts out with the introduction to seven friends who live in the wood and are all concerned with losing their home due to upcoming construction. This is a postmodern picture book because it is already bringing up topics that are not typical of a picture book. The story continues on to explain how the friends think of an idea to save their home. The book talks about how construction can affect the environment and even brings up the topic of extinct animals. Not only this, the story also talks about preservation of nature. This book may sound boring but it has a beautiful story that ends with a lesson in friendship as well. The plot is engaging and the directed audience, younger children, are always captivated by the awe of dinosaurs. The adventure that the friends go on in order to save their home is a great literary element because it produces a topic for further discussion after reading the book.
The illustrations in this book are perfect for the story. They are a bit more complex but have visible emotion within the characters. The text and illustrations go hand in hand. There are some instances where the illustrations show a glimpse of what the text talks about in the page after. This can trigger more thinking for the reader and potential discussion topics on what the reader would do differently. Overall the illustrations and the story come together to make a cute story with a powerful message.

[Eliot Reads]

Read the version in Spanish. Seven animal friends (a bear, fox, woodpecker, deer, snake, and 2 rabbits) band together to save their woodland home. Together, they cleverly build a giant dinosaur that scares away the land developers and attracts the attention of reporters and scientists, who realize that the animals are all endangered species, and so declare Dinosaur Woods a protected nature preserve.

[Lena]

To celebrate World Wildlife Day 2021, I read to my daughter this book. The theme for the year was "Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet" and this was the perfect book that fit the theme which highlighted the central role of forests, forest specials and ecosystem services in the sustainability of the populations that live in the forest and adjacent areas. The book was such a cute read and I would read it to her again.

[BlackhamBooks]

3.5 - cute little story about seven unlikely woodland friends who don't want their forest cut down by developers .... so they create a dinosaur. Ultimately, it isn't the dinosaur that saves them, and their home.

I think it's the illustrations here more than the simple text that kids would enjoy. Mixed media collage, the critters look like they've been cut from paper, with some coloring/shading, pen details added.

[Rose Rosetree]

It's a delight to meet these seven clever critters, even though they've got a big problem.

"In four days, seven friends were going to lose their home."

Oh, what a clever-and-cunning plan they come up with. And what a happy ending arrives, courtesy of author George McClements!

FIVE STARS for sure.

[Marlene]

The forest animals are about to lose their home. They make a plan to scare the workers away and discover they're pretty special themselves.

[Arik]

Teamwork is the answer.

[Nancy Palmer]

Introduces children to the concepts of endangered habitats and species.

[Stephen Snyder]

George McClements does such a wonderful job in tugging at the heart strings of young children, and promote a concern for animals and their rapidly vanishing habitats.

Kudos George McClements!

[Dest]

When seven animals find out their home is going to be bulldozed to make way for a factory, they come up with a plan to protect it: they build a costume and pretend to be a dinosaur. When they get found out, the people decide not to tear down the woods because (SPOILER) they find out all the animals are endangered and decide to protect them.

A few problems with this book: there's a weird mix of make-believe and reality. I can imagine having a hard time trying to explain what's real and what's imaginary to a little kid. Also, the book says the snake is extinct, but it's obviously not if there's one living in the woods. It should've said the people THOUGHT he was extinct.

I'm giving this three stars because I really like the illustrations, but I'd only give the writing two.

[Diane]

In order to save their forest from demolition, Rojo comes up with a plan. With the help of his friends, he builds "Something BIG. Something AMAZING." A dinosaur. 'There's no way they'll tear down our home if they think a dinosaur lives here." But when the whole plan comes crashing down, they find they have an even more amazing to stop the demolition.

I love the Crabby-Faced Punching Rabbits and the Left-Footed Klutz Deer.

[Amanda]

My son loves dinosaurs. That being said, I think he and I were expecting this book to be more about Dinosaurs (given the title). However, it is about other animals living in the woods that don't want them torn down, so they build a Dinosaur to scare off the demolition crew. It was a nice story overall, just not what I expected. We borrowed this from the library, and he hasn't asked me to reread it to him.

[Kate Hastings]

A bunch of animals are running out of habitat. Afraid they will lose their home, they take drastic measures... and build a dinosaur to scare/keep scientists interested in their forest instead of developing it.

A fun way to start a discussion about endangered animals and the importance of maintaining habitats.

[Tam]

This is one of those books where you have to read either the inside cover or the title page to know that the critters are losing their homes because the forest is being torn down so a factory can go up. I didn't know that so when I saw the illustration I thought it was going to be a forest fire and the story didn't make sense. Duh!

[Michelle]

I read this book to my 3 and 4 year old cousins when I was babysitting them and they loved it. I had to read it twice to the 3 year old and when I was done he didn't want to let me take the book away from him. We also did the activity at the back of the book and they loved making their own dinosaurs to scare me and their parents.

[Melissa Helman]

I'm 30 years old and I am ordering my second copy since I gave my other one to an 8 year old who may have loved it more than me. This book is not only hilarious but it sparks a joy and laughter that I haven't seen in kid's books in a long time. Clever, witty, and revolutionary...Long live dinosaur woods!

[Boni]

Fun book- adore the illustrations. Give this one to fans of Scaredy Squirrel- it has some of the same vibe/feel to it. My son (big Scaredy fan and LOVED this book too) can't wait to make the dinosaur puppet tomorrow from the directions at the back.

[Emma]

Upon finding out that construction will be tearing down their forest home, seven animals try to come up with a plan to save their living space. Rojo the Fox sees an add for a Dinosaur Exhibit and comees up with an idea...

[Kim]

Nice way to show extinction and endangered species to kids. Forest animals come up with a strange idea to make a dinosaur so that no one bulldozes their woods. Great illustrations, a little on the long side.

[Tara]

Loved the story, kind of wordy though

[Katie]

Cute, imaginative, funny, and educational.

[N]

I thought the story was so-so until the "crabby faced punching rabbits" came out. They helped.

[Kristen]

Love the environmental message, the cut-paper art, the character's comic asides!

[Marge]

Clever animals save the wood by working together

[Lisa Lesyshen]

Asher thought this was a great book. Good environmental info but very funny!

[Tina B]

dinosaurs, forest animals, conservation

[Skylar Burris]

The kids say, "Fun!" (even though they don't quite get it). Mom says, "Eh."

[Alisha]

a book that is fun for child and parent alike!

[Diana Pettis]

Definately better for younger children. A good introduction if you were looking to explain extinct animals to children. My 4 year old son especially enjoyed it.

[kate]

Great and funny story, where seven endangered animals build a Trojan-horse-esque dinosaur to protect their home. Will use in a dinosaur-themed story time for three & four year olds.