Return of the
Dinosaurs
by Bronwyn Houston (Magabala Books) HB RRP $17.99 ISBN 9781925360370
Reviewed
by Brook Tayla
There’s
a lot to really like about Bronwyn Houston’s latest picture book. The first
thing is that she addresses the question we have all contemplated at some time:
‘What if dinosaurs still roamed the Earth today?’ Dinosaurs may have died out but our curiosity
about them never has. This ‘factional’ book presents a fun story based on the
prehistoric creatures that actually inhabited Broome, Australia in the
Cretaceous Period and places them back in our time where they get to do things
like go to the movies!
The
opening page brings readers right into the story and sets up enough intrigue to
make one want to read on. The balance between visual and verbal text works
well; the narrated text feels like a casual conversation and Bronwyn’s
extremely detailed and bright collages, and on edge-to-edge double-paged
spreads which engage readers to be participants. There
are extra bits and pieces to find in Bronwyn’s artwork and she interplays a
dual text element with dinosaur comments and questions. Observing the scale of the dinosaurs and their
surroundings is intriguing, too.
I
think there was an opportunity to present more interesting end papers with this
book and sometimes the main text and the extra ‘dinosaur dialogue’ felt
misplaced as I prefer primary text to always prelude secondary text, however
these are small factors that do not take away from the book’s appeal.
The
book ends with an information page about Bronwyn Houston and the dinosaurs that
lived in Broome, including a map, which ties this factional story together neatly
and gives readers plenty to think about and perhaps research, and of course there
has been plenty of fun and mischief along the way.
Brook Tayla writes a blog called telltalestome@wordpress.com
and would love you to drop by, read some reviews, leave a comment and
subscribe.
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