I am Allosaurus

January 1, 2020

PreS-Gr 2-Simple, repetitive text and engaging illustrations follow an allosaurus from birth to adulthood. Three-word sentences feature basic vocabulary and consistent structure: "I am Allosaurus. I can hide. I am Allosaurus. I can hunt." The simple sentence structure makes the book accessible to the earliest readers, while dynamic drawings provide excitement. Two-page spreads depict the dinosaur exploring its world with caution, then becoming more active as it grows. The young dinosaur hunts and eats a dragonfly. The adult allosaurus chooses a large stegosaurus as its prey. Physical features are conveyed accurately, with just the right touch of personality in the protagonist's eyes. Clear, uncluttered layouts focus on the allosaurus with a good variety of perspectives as it interacts with other creatures in the prehistoric setting; the other animals are not identified by species. The final illustrated spread shows its skeleton in a museum: "I am Allosaurus. I am extinct." A closing section provides details about the allosaurus and lists the time periods when it existed, expanding on the intentionally limited information. This could be useful to teachers, parents, and caregivers. VERDICT An appealing choice for beginning readers who like dinosaurs and action.-Steven Engelfried, Wilsonville Public Library, OR

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November 15, 2019
An invitation to meet a prehistoric predator and follow it from egg to exhibit. Sounding like a slightly more articulate version of Guardians of the Galaxy's Groot ("I am Allosaurus. I can run"), a theropod narrator hatches and survives. It avoids being eaten by larger toothy prowlers while chowing down on a dragonfly (when small) and a stegosaur (when fully grown), then passes in an abrupt page turn from Jurassic landscapes to a museum setting, towering as a fossil skeleton over human silhouettes with a final "I am Allosaurus. I am extinct." The extreme terseness of the text and patterned repetition makes this an ideal choice for dinosaur lovers just stretching their own independent-reading legs. Along with depicting his dino with an arresting pattern of deep black stripes on a bright pink body, with vivid blue rings around its eyes, Bradley follows a current train of paleontological thought by adding a ruff of hairy feathers that vanishes as the animal matures. Dramatic shifts in perspective neatly capture scale as the reptile grows. Bradley also carefully keeps other flora and fauna in his painted scenes true to period and closes with notes on his subject's anatomy, a map showing where Allosaurus remains have been found, and related information. Meat and potatoes--er, more meat for hatchling dinosaur fans, with unusually eye-catching art. (bibliography) (Informational picture book/early reader. 5-7)

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