What the Dinosaurs Did at School (What the Dinosaurs Did #2)

by Refe Tuma (Author) Susan Tuma (Illustrator)

What the Dinosaurs Did at School (What the Dinosaurs Did #2)
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

In this follow up to the hit What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night, the masterminds behind the social media phenomenon Dinovember once again envision the wonder and chaos of toy dinosaurs come to life-this time in a setting that's perfect for back-to-school!

Every November, writer and social media master Refe Tuma and his wife, Susan, work into the night to bring their four children scenes from the secret lives of their toys--specifically the nighttime antics of their plastic dinosaurs. But in the follow-up to the hit What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night, these scampish dinosaurs make the trip to school, hidden in a kid's backpack.

Each scene is photographed in meticulous detail, letting viewers joyfully suspend disbelief and think to themselves--just LOOK at what these diminutive dinos did at school!

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Hardcover
$18.99

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Publishers Weekly

The Tumas’ plastic toy dinosaurs are at it again; previously seen in 2015’s What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night, they’re now busy wreaking havoc at school. As the creatures make their way through the building, the Tumas stage photographed scenes of the dinos covered with feathers and paint in the art room, wielding paper swords in the library, and embroiled in a spaghetti-laden cafeteria food fight, among other scenarios. The compositions are excellent, the props adorable (tiny lab coats in the science room, a mop-turned-wig for a T. rex), and the hyperbolic narration sustains a fever pitch (“If your teacher find dinosaurs running wild in her classroom, she’ll put them in the drawer of no return”). But it’s not quite enough to prevent a sense of sameness from setting in as the story moves from mess to mess. Ages 4–8. Agent: Kristyn Keene and Liz Farrell, ICM. (June)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2—In this rollicking third book from the creators of Dinovember, the dinosaurs from What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night escape in a backpack and head to school. The narrator tries to find ways to hide the dinosaurs in order to keep them from being sent to the Drawer of No Return. Unfortunately, the dinosaurs make a mess everywhere they go, even in the library. An experiment in the science lab goes awry and they are caught and sent to the Drawer of No Return where they proceed to have a party with all the other toys. The whimsical and fun photographs show real plastic dinosaurs posed in various locations throughout the school and they are the best part of the book. Somehow, the dinosaurs' expressions (which never change) seem to match whatever action is happening around them. While the text adds to the tale, the photographs are what really carry the story. This book might even inspire students to document dinosaur adventures of their own. VERDICT Amusing and fun, students who love dinosaurs will devour this book.—V. Lynn Christiansen, Wiley International Studies Magnet Elementary School, Raleigh, NC

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes




Refe Tuma
Refe and Susan Tuma live in Kansas City with their four children and a herd of plastic dinosaurs. The Tumas began cataloguing their dinosaurs' antics in 2012, igniting the imaginations of hundreds of thousands of children--young and old--across the world.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780316552899
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date
June 06, 2017
Series
What the Dinosaurs Did
BISAC categories
JUV002060 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures
JUV040000 - Juvenile Fiction | Toys, Dolls & Puppets
JUV035000 - Juvenile Fiction | School & Education
Library of Congress categories
Humorous stories
Dinosaurs
Behavior
Toys
Schools
JUVENILE FICTION / School & Education
JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Dinosaurs & Preh

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