Dogs and Dinos

TOMMYSAURUS REX by Doug TenNapel. Graphia, 2013.

Hang on to your heartstrings. Here is a wonderful and warm GN about the close relationship between a boy and his, erm, dinosaur. wn is faced with After Ely's dog, Tommy, is hit by a car, his parents decide Ely should go spend the summer with his grandfather. Grandpa is lots of fun to be around even if he sometimes forgets about Ely being a kid and not a grown up. But the coolest thing about this summer is when Ely discovers a baby T-rex hidden in a cave near Grandpa's house. It is hard to keep even a baby T-rex a secret and, before long, the town is faced with "Tommy" as Ely christens his new pet. Tuck a hanky into the pages of this GN which is filled with humor and pathos. Kids will demand more TenNapel books, too, after diving into this one.

Empty Box? Think Again!

CARDBOARD by Doug Tenappel (Scholastic, August 2012)takes readers into a remarkable world where a seemingly simple cardboard box can be transformed into something much more. Cam's father, out of work and desperate, purchases an empty cardboard box from a rather strange salesman. The box comes with warnings which, of course, will be ignored for the sake of the story. Cam and his father fashion a figure from the cardboard, a figure that comes to life. There are complications aplenty in this nifty story that ultimately lets readers know that good and evil are not easily separated. Tennapel's skill with storytelling with visuals and bare text makes this a memorable reading experience. <184>