cover image Dini Dinosaur

Dini Dinosaur

Karen Beaumont, illus. by Daniel Roode. Greenwillow, $14.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-207299-3

Even youngest toddlers will guess what’s coming next in this bath-time story about a baby dinosaur who neglects to take off his clothes before getting cleaned up. When Mama announces that muddy Dini Dinosaur needs to bathe before bedtime, he is happy to comply: “Dirty Dini Dinosaur/ splashed in the tub/ He tried to wash his feet/ with a... scrub-a-dub-dub!/ Silly Dini Dinosaur!/ Don’t you know?/ You have to take your shoes off... ‘Back you go!’” Beaumont (Where’s My T-R-U-C-K?) repeats her buoyant, nursery rhyme–style pattern for Dini’s pants, shirt, and hat; finally, Dini’s mother gives him a thorough scrubbing of his horns, back, scales, and toenails, before tucking him in for the night. Though there’s no real drama—Dini is a willing bathgoer, and mama is none too upset about Dini’s clothes, which get sparklingly clean in the process—Roode’s cheerful digital artwork, which is stylistically in keeping with his Little Bea books, features lots of smiles, bubbles, and hugs that work well with the book’s sweet-natured, end-of-the-day vibe. Ages 2–5. (Mar.)