Dinosaur Juniors: Happy Hatchday by Rob Biddulph

A new dinosaur series roars onto the scene. It begins with "nine perfect eggs," eight of which hatch into colorful dinosaurs (and one mammoth) that trot off to begin life. But wait! One egg is left! It's poor Greg (short for Gregosaurus), who's been left behind. He hurries to catch up with his siblings, only to discover they've already found their places and are neatly paired off. His siblings are painting, cooking, putting on a show (Martin the dinosaur is just a pair of feet sticking out of the egg), and having fun without him. Sadly, Greg wanders off but Ziggy the dragonfly leads him to a big surprise - a big hatchday party for him, put on by all his siblings!

The colorful art shows a crew of dinosaurs most of which are very similar in shape and size - they walk on their hind legs with big noses and have spines or patterns down their backs. There's also a recognizable triceratops in yellow, orange brachiosaurus, purple mammoth, and blue pterosaur. Martin is just a pair of green legs sticking out of the egg. Naturally, this story is not intended to be remotely nonfiction - aside from the mammoth hatching from an egg, anthropomorphic dinosaurs, and extremely small dragonfly, the dinosaurs come from a variety of time periods.

Verdict: This will appeal to young listeners who like cheerful rhyming stories, dinosaurs (both factual and fictional), and colorful art. It's the start of a series that promises to be fun and makes a nice addition to dinosaur sections in your library.

ISBN: 9780008325503; Published May 2019 by HarperCollins; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library