Here Comes Destructosaurus! by Aaron Reynolds (review)

Destructosaurus is a force to be reckoned with: he smashes into skyscrapers, tracks mud and seaweed all over the city, shoots flames with his enormous belches, and tosses buildings and bridges aside, all while an adult voice calls on him to pull it together (“Watch what you’re doing, Destructosaurus!”). It turns out that Destructosaurus is just trying to locate his lost teddy bear, though, so the adult apologizes for the harsh tone (“You could have used your words. But, still. Sorry I yelled”) and Destructosaurus heads back to the sea … without cleaning up his mess. Even kids who don’t recognize Destructosaurus as a tantruming child can appreciate the book’s graphic appeal and superlative destruction. The digitally rendered illustrations by Tankard (Grumpy Bird, BCCB 3/07) offer playful perspectives on the monstermovie feel (the image of Destructosaurus reflected in the glass of a skyscraper is particularly clever). Destructosaurus is pictured from myriad angles—down below, up above, through an open window—and each take capitalizes on the size and scale of the monster. The artwork has the rich translucency of ink, with thick black outlines suggesting brushwork. This will certainly appeal to the preschoolers, who are likely to recognize the adult protestations as readily as the adults recognize the path of destruction that follows the tantruming dinosaur.