All young dinosaurs are warned about the scary Gigantosaurus. So Bonehead
volunteers to be the dino-kids lookout whenever they go into the jungle to play.
Unfortunately, he is the original boy-dinosaur who cried wolf, or in this case,
GIGANTOSAURUS! Finally, Bonehead's friends refuse to believe his warnings
and the Gigantosaurus really turns up! In a vertical gatefold surprise, it looks like
Bonehead has got crunched - but in a hilarious reveal we discover this annoying
little dinosaur is safe after all.
About the Author :
Jonny Duddle (Author, Illustrator)
Jonny Duddle overheard the story of his first book The Pirate Cruncher while sailing on a square-rigger. Since then he has written even stranger tales including The Pirates of Scurvy Sands,The Pirates Next Door, Gigantosaurus and The King of Space. The Pirates Next Door won the Waterstones Prize in 2012 and was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize.Now in danger of becoming a landlubber, Jonny lives in Wales with his wife, Jane, and their daughters, Daisy and Rosie.
Review :
The "boy who cried wolf" theme will be familiar, only here it's a little dinosaur who cries, "Gigantosaurus." The first time he gives the alarm, it turns out to just be a triceratops; then it's just diplodocous. Each time, Bonehead, a young ankylosaurus, laughs when his friends run and hide, but when he issues his fourth warning, they don't believe him. Of course, the threat is real this time, and Bonehead almost becomes Gigantosaurus's lunch. Most kids will enjoy this raucous rhyming story. The full-bleed, earth-tone digital cartoons are appropriately exaggerated and fraught with tension without being frightening. A note at the end introduces the real and made-up creatures that appear in the story. Fans of dinosaurs and those who love action will enjoy this prehistoric romp.
Prize-winning author Jonny Duddle returns with a paperback edition of his latest creation.
An amusing rhyming story about crying wolf or in this case Gigantosaurus: 'Each dinosaur mum said, 'Beware my child, of the Gigantosaurus so fierce and wild/His feet go STOMP! His jaws go CRUNCH! In the blink of an eye you'll be his LUNCH!'
Brilliantly illustrated, this picture book includes real dinosaurs plus some fun facts at the end of the story to delight every dino-enthusiast. Priced at £6.99 in paperback, it's published by Templar.
A great pre-historic tale re-telling of the boy who cried wolf, except this time it's the dinosaur who cried 'Gigantosaurus'!
All we've heard about for at least the last decade is The Gruffalo (I know it was first published in 1999, but as with most things it took numerous years to become a household word). It certainly is an outstanding children's book in its own right. Having a small boy (our very own Gruffalo's Child), my husband and I can confidently recite the book from cover to cover (as can our son, an avid reader who has already loved several copies to death).
It was therefore a wonderful surprise to come across something as good as The Gruffalo but with Dinosaurs: Gigantosaurus by Jonny Duddle (what a fabulous name for a children's author!).
This book has detailed digital illustrations by the author himself. As an illustrator myself, I have to admit that I've not been that wowed by digital art for children, but this one demonstrates that if you know what you're doing you can create the depth and detail that usually only comes from physicalart. The illustrations are readable, original, and very inviting to a three-year-old's imagination. There's also a clever fold out when the 'Gigantosaurus' finally appears - the board book being too small to contain him. Speaking as a book designer, the only drawback for me is that the typography was a little less thought out than the illustrations, the story, and the cover. But this is where my criticism starts and stops.
Duddle's prehistoric take on The Boy Who Cried Wolf is enormous fun. The rhyming story rollicks along and with their filmic quality, the digitally created illustrations seem to leap off the page.
There's also a fold out page and, to whet the appetites of knowledge seekers, there are snippets of information about the featured dinosaurs on the two final double spreads.
Dinosaur style, Duddle has definitely done himself proud.
Bonehead, Tiny, Fin and Bill are four tiny and terribly cute dinosaurs who like spending their days playing. Their mums warn them to beware of the Gigantosaurus, but like most children do they take any notice? Why, of course not! Well actually ... Bonehead does. He keeps tricking his friends by calling out the Gigantosaurus is coming. But what happens when the Gigantosaurus really does come???
What a gorgeous gorgeous book. It initially reminded me of the Puff the Magic Dragon story, but the further through I read it appeared to be a dinosaur retelling of Peter and the Wolf. Bonehead is a bit of a liar, and he eventually cries 'wolf' ... woops I mean 'Gigantosaurus' once too often.
Told in rhyme, this is a great book to share with your dinosaur-loving children. Younger children will enjoy having this read to them, while the language used is more suitable for older children to read alone.
Duddle's illustrations are fan-fraking-amazing. I love love love Bonehead. Each of his images seem to just pop with his courage and self-confidence ... especially the page where their mothers are trying to tell them to be careful. He's like 'Yeah Yeah, whatever!' While his friends are quaking in their boots. Did I mention that they are really really cute???
The amount of detail in each illustration is fantastic. They are bright, clear and show so much. If you look carefully you can see hints of all sorts of dinosaur formations hiding in the images. And you also get to meet the dinosaurs in the book at the end. There are two pages of dino facts for kids to enjoy.
What a great addition to your collection, whether it's because you are a dinosaur fan, you like a good read-aloud, or purely for the amazing illustrations.
