Rawr!
“Being a dinosaur is hard,” admits the striped, wide-eyed, toothy dinosaur narrator. He’s too big for his school desk, his gym clothes are too small, and playing hide-and-seek is a challenge. Worse, his “RAWR!” is terrifying to others. But as he explains, he’s really friendly and helpful—whether retrieving a ball from a roof or serving as crossing guard. Yes, he may be big, but he insists there’s nothing to fear, including his “RAWR,” which has a friendly meaning. Throughout, the dinosaur’s attempts to soften and debunk his scary reputation are complemented by simply-rendered, bright-hued cartoonish illustrations accompanied by short phrases in a handwritten-style font. However, the audience at whom the dinosaur’s exhortations are aimed is unclear (the somewhat generic-faced kids all smile in his presence), and while the book, including its cover featuring a soft-textured, puffy upright dino, seems targeted toward younger ones, they may not fully grasp the humor (like inadvertently crushing a playground slide). Still, the message of looking beyond appearances is a helpful one. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Shelle Rosenfeld