Poetry Friday/Another Starred Review

Poem "Giganotosaurus" and illustration detail copyright 2009 by Douglas Florian
This just in from my editor: DINOTHESAURUS will receive another starred review, this time in the March 1st edition of Booklist:
* Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings.
Florian, Douglas (Author), Florian, Douglas (Illustrator)
Mar 2009. 56 p. Atheneum, hardcover, $17.99. (9781416979784). 811
Florian, whose previous picture-book poetry collections have covered the animal kingdom, from dogs and cats to lizards and pollywogs, takes a few evolutionary steps back in this exuberant verse roundup of prehistoric creatures. As usual, Florian's blend of irresistible wordplay and collage art will draw children. The gleeful twists of language evident in the title continue throughout each of the selections spotlighting a different species, including the Triceratops (Try-scare-a-tops./ Try-wouldn't-want-to-dare-a-tops"). Even as they are delighting in the lines' silliness, children will absorb solid facts, as in a poem that introduces earth's epochs: "The dinosaurs/First lived outdoors/ During the time Triassic./ While most died out,/ Some came about/ Later in the Jurassic." The selections aren't equally strong, and the appended material-
information about each dinosaur and a bibliography- is printed on textured, colored backgrounds that compete with the text. Still, this is a standout title on a perennially popular subject that has inspired surprisingly few poetry collections for kids.
-Gillian Engberg

And here's another sneak preview:

Giganotosaurus
GIG-ah-not-oh-SAW-rus ( giant southern lizard)
One hundred million years before us
Lived the Giga-not-o-saurus.
Gigantic, titanic, enormous, colossal-
What once was humongous is now just a fossil.
When it was hungry or got into fights,
It opened its jaws and took giga-bites.