Brianosaurus

Frog Brian, rendered by Adamson (Bird Hugs) as a thick green shape with gangly limbs and googly eyes, “was OBSESSED with dinosaurs.” When he learns that frogs were also present during the age of dinosaurs, and tells his forest pals, mammal Koji points out, “That kind of means you’re a dinosaur!” Enthusiastically taking this point to heart, Brian straps a set of stegosaurus-like plates onto his back: “Meet BRIANOSAURUS!” Though he initially loves roaring on request, Brian discovers that the forest creatures and frogs alike have their own ideas about what Brianosaurus should and shouldn’t do. “Dinosaurs don’t paint pictures,” insists one of the forest pals, while a member of the largely upset frog community plaintively asks, “Don’t you like being a frog, Brian?” When the two sides face off, Brian and another frog hit on a new idea: the “ME-osaurus.” “Nobody can say what a ME-osaurus does,” Brian notes, “because every ME-osaurus is DIFFERENT.” This tale of individuality championed and rewarded wears its message lightly, with gentle-hued pencil, watercolor, and digital illustrations portraying two communities full of adorable animals—all trying to do right by their friend. Ages up to 8. [em]Agent: Isabel Atherton, Creative Authors. (Apr.) [/em]