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Dazzle the Dinosaur
The bestselling author of The Rainbow Fish and The Christmas Star returns with a new picture about Dazzle, a dinosaur with a beautiful glittering spine.
When Dazzle and his friend, Maia the Maiasaurus, set out on an adventure, they meet a terrible Dragonsaurus! Will Dazzle's shining spines save the day?
When Dazzle and his friend, Maia the Maiasaurus, set out on an adventure, they meet a terrible Dragonsaurus! Will Dazzle's shining spines save the day?
24 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
5 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Marcus Pfister
557 books179 followersMarcus Pfister was born in Berne, Switzerland, and began his career as a graphic artist in an advertising agency. In 1983, he decided to dedicate more time to artistic pursuits, and began to write and illustrate his first book, The Sleepy Owl, which was published in 1986. His best-known work to date is The Rainbow Fish, which has remained on bestseller lists across the United States since 1992.
Marcus does most of his illustrations for children's books in watercolors. He begins each book by stretching watercolor paper over a wooden board so that it won't warp when wet. He then copies his rough sketches onto the paper in pencil. At this point, he is ready to begin painting. For backgrounds and blended contours, he uses wet paint on wet paper to get a softer effect. For sharper details, he first lets the paper dry, then paints the final picture layer by layer. When the illustration is complete he cuts the paper from the wooden board.
For books that feature holographic foil stamping, he then tapes a piece of transparent film over the art and indicates with a black marker where the foil stamping should be. The foil stamping is then applied during the production process after the pages are printed and before the final binding.
Marcus and his wife, Kathryn, work together in Berne, where they live with their three children.
Marcus does most of his illustrations for children's books in watercolors. He begins each book by stretching watercolor paper over a wooden board so that it won't warp when wet. He then copies his rough sketches onto the paper in pencil. At this point, he is ready to begin painting. For backgrounds and blended contours, he uses wet paint on wet paper to get a softer effect. For sharper details, he first lets the paper dry, then paints the final picture layer by layer. When the illustration is complete he cuts the paper from the wooden board.
For books that feature holographic foil stamping, he then tapes a piece of transparent film over the art and indicates with a black marker where the foil stamping should be. The foil stamping is then applied during the production process after the pages are printed and before the final binding.
Marcus and his wife, Kathryn, work together in Berne, where they live with their three children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
August 14, 2017
Dazzle emerges from a glimmering egg that none of the other dinosaurs can trace back to themselves. His back shimmers whenever the sun hits and he must be careful when out with other young dinos to ensure predators cannot locate them. One day, after a clash with a T. Rex, Dazzle begins an adventure to find a new and safer place to live. A few twists and turns along the way lead to the perfect spot, but only after using the shimmering back to his advantage. Neo asked why we do not see dinosaurs any longer and if it was that dazzling back on some of them that forced them to hide forever. Extinction is still a little beyond him, but we will get there.
March 8, 2018
(SPOILERS) This book was cute, but these little baby dinosaurs disobeyed their mom and put themselves in serious danger. I am all for standing up for yourself and your family, but as baby dinosaurs they should have never gone into that cave alone. They had a whole pack of dinosaurs watching their every move earlier, why don't all those dinosaurs go into the cave?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2023
The book is OK nothing really amazing. I do like the front of the book, though where they teach you about the different kinds of real dinosaurs and what their names mean.
This is the part I like:
Quetzalcoatlus - named after the Aztec feathered serpent god, Quetzalcoatl. Not a dinosaur, but a flying Pterosaur, Quetzalcoatlus what is the largest of the flying creatures. Its wingspan was 40 feet/12 m. It had a long, narrow beak and might have used thermals, warm updrafts of air, to become airborne.
Apatosaurus - “deceptive lizard “also called brontosaurus. The apatosaurus was 75 feet/23 m long and only 15 feet/4.6 m tall. It’s long till could swing like a whip, and its neck was so long that it could reach into the tops of trees to eat the needles and twigs.
Tyrannosaurus rex- “tyrant lizard “
This meat eating dinosaur had gigantic jaws: 3 feet/90 cm long, with 60 teeth that were 3 to 6 inches/8 to 15 cm. As it ran on, it’s powerful hind legs, the tyrannosaurus would reach out its tail to balance the weight of it’s massive head; outstretched, it was 50 feet/15 m long and 18.5 feet/5.6 m tall.
Maiasaurus - “good mother lizard “. These dinosaurs nested together in bowl shaped mud mounds. The adults were 30 feet/9 m long and 15 feet/4.5 m tall. The babies “Maia” were 3 feet/1 m long and 12 inches/30 cm tall.
Stegosaurus - “plated lizard quote. With remarkable plate so long it’s fine, the stegosaurus was about the size of an elephant, 11 feet/3.4 m tall and 25 feet/7.5 m long. The hips were the highest point, and stegosaurus carried it had low to the ground to help find plans to eat.
Deinonychus - “terrible claw quote. This fast moving by iPad was 9 feet/2.7 m long and 5 feet/1.5 m tall. It had long hands with sharp claws; the second toe of its foot had a knifelike claw that was 5 inches/13 cm long. It probably hunted dinosaurs much larger than itself.
This is the part I like:
Quetzalcoatlus - named after the Aztec feathered serpent god, Quetzalcoatl. Not a dinosaur, but a flying Pterosaur, Quetzalcoatlus what is the largest of the flying creatures. Its wingspan was 40 feet/12 m. It had a long, narrow beak and might have used thermals, warm updrafts of air, to become airborne.
Apatosaurus - “deceptive lizard “also called brontosaurus. The apatosaurus was 75 feet/23 m long and only 15 feet/4.6 m tall. It’s long till could swing like a whip, and its neck was so long that it could reach into the tops of trees to eat the needles and twigs.
Tyrannosaurus rex- “tyrant lizard “
This meat eating dinosaur had gigantic jaws: 3 feet/90 cm long, with 60 teeth that were 3 to 6 inches/8 to 15 cm. As it ran on, it’s powerful hind legs, the tyrannosaurus would reach out its tail to balance the weight of it’s massive head; outstretched, it was 50 feet/15 m long and 18.5 feet/5.6 m tall.
Maiasaurus - “good mother lizard “. These dinosaurs nested together in bowl shaped mud mounds. The adults were 30 feet/9 m long and 15 feet/4.5 m tall. The babies “Maia” were 3 feet/1 m long and 12 inches/30 cm tall.
Stegosaurus - “plated lizard quote. With remarkable plate so long it’s fine, the stegosaurus was about the size of an elephant, 11 feet/3.4 m tall and 25 feet/7.5 m long. The hips were the highest point, and stegosaurus carried it had low to the ground to help find plans to eat.
Deinonychus - “terrible claw quote. This fast moving by iPad was 9 feet/2.7 m long and 5 feet/1.5 m tall. It had long hands with sharp claws; the second toe of its foot had a knifelike claw that was 5 inches/13 cm long. It probably hunted dinosaurs much larger than itself.
September 21, 2018
Though this book's artwork was lovely, the wording appeared to be a little difficult for a child to comprehend. Full dinosaur names were used in the book in place of regular names for the dinosaurs. The story line was cute and featured colorful and fun-loving characters, though it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Dazzle solved a problem with the help of a friend and saved the day. I would've enjoyed seeing more variation in the story! Overall, I would recommend this story.
May 4, 2019
A shiny element on each page of this book captivates the interest of young children. The main character has a glittery spine and cam from an egg in a Maiasaurus nest, then hatches and goes on adventures with best friend Maia. Some facts are interwoven into the story. The soft colors of the pictures contrast well with the shiny spine. The book is very long and although the pictures are pretty, should be broken into sections to read to pre-kinders.
February 23, 2021
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Grades: K-2
I was excited to find another book by the same author as the Rainbow Fish. Honestly, I enjoyed the plot and theme of the Rainbow Fish better. However, I did appreciate how the book included the dinosaur names and explores sibling relationships. The sparkly spine on Dazzle was also a fun addition to each page!
Grades: K-2
I was excited to find another book by the same author as the Rainbow Fish. Honestly, I enjoyed the plot and theme of the Rainbow Fish better. However, I did appreciate how the book included the dinosaur names and explores sibling relationships. The sparkly spine on Dazzle was also a fun addition to each page!
May 27, 2025
The shining element was fun and the story was solid, but I felt like the full dinosaur names should have had a pronunciation guide.
I probably would have liked this even more when I was younger and going through my obsession with The Land Before Time movie.
Dazzle himself doesn't seem to have as much of a personality as Pfister's Rainbow Fish did.
I probably would have liked this even more when I was younger and going through my obsession with The Land Before Time movie.
Dazzle himself doesn't seem to have as much of a personality as Pfister's Rainbow Fish did.
April 25, 2022
In the late 90s I had on VHS an animated double feature of Dazzle the Dinosaur and the Rainbow Fish, and the Dazzle half was always my favorite. Now over 20 years later I can say I've read the book, too.
November 24, 2017
It's the story of a dinosaur named Dazzle because of his shiny spines on his back. The story is okay, as are the illustrations. I can see how it would appeal to children.
January 16, 2018
The girls loved this one because they are into all things dinosaur, but I got so sick of reading it.
February 13, 2019
Dazzle, you sweet, awkward baby! 3/5 stars!
March 12, 2019
My favorite childhood book! I still have it on my bookshelf.
March 16, 2019
Mon fils de 3 ans est fan de cette histoire, je suis moins enthousiaste que lui mais j'apprécie la logique de l'histoire et la page de garde avec tous les protagonistes et leur nom !
July 19, 2019
I hated it. IT WAS A RIPOFF OF DAPPLE THE DINOSAUR FROM HAMMOCKS ANIMATION!
September 27, 2019
Adorable book.
May 28, 2022
5 stars bc this shit is iconic.
June 13, 2022
Super cute book
July 5, 2022
This is a nice book about siblings (could relate to friends) using their special talents to help each other. This book has a lot of words.
October 27, 2022
Interesting little adventure story containing information about dinosaurs. The illustrations are full of blues, purples, and greens and my daughter loved the iridescent spine on Dazzle.
March 20, 2023
Cute story of a unique dinosaur and friend summoning their courage to reclaim their homeland.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 10, 2023
Cute story, I personally would have liked a final picture of the Dino family in their new home.
May 29, 2024
I should write a children's book. I couldn't very well do worse than Dazzle the Dinosaur, as long as I gave much of a damn.
November 18, 2024
Pretty cute!
September 11, 2019
I didn’t like that the little Dino’s were naughty and were the hero’s because of it.
June 19, 2016
My first book ever reading something by Marcus Pfister that wasn't about Rainbow Fish. I loved it and so did my son.
This book is a bit wordier than his usual books and should be geared strictly towards either reading to children or waiting until they have a good grasp as reading for them to read aloud as it had lots of dinosaur names.
The story was great. Dazzle is a dinosaur who is essentially adopted, his egg wound up in another nest, but the nest owner decided to care for him like her own. He's different, not like any dinosaur they've ever seen before. He has a sail on his back that is reflective, literally dazzling the other dinosaurs, thus how he gets his name.
The family lives in a herd in a dangerous area, so the kids have to remain under constant vigilance to stay safe. They find out the herd lost its protective cave to a Dragonsaurus (fictional dinosaur created for book) and they're determined to get the cave back for the herd. Other dinosaurs help them on the way as they evade the dangerous T. Rex. They find out the Dragonsaurus is scared of sunlight. When Maia, Dazzle's adopted sister, is trapped by the Dragonsaurus, Dazzle rushes inside, catching the light in his sail and scares the Dragonsaurus away.
They return to the herd and then the whole herd moves back to the cave where they live in peace and happiness, where Dazzle doesn't have to hide from predators anymore.
This book is a bit wordier than his usual books and should be geared strictly towards either reading to children or waiting until they have a good grasp as reading for them to read aloud as it had lots of dinosaur names.
The story was great. Dazzle is a dinosaur who is essentially adopted, his egg wound up in another nest, but the nest owner decided to care for him like her own. He's different, not like any dinosaur they've ever seen before. He has a sail on his back that is reflective, literally dazzling the other dinosaurs, thus how he gets his name.
The family lives in a herd in a dangerous area, so the kids have to remain under constant vigilance to stay safe. They find out the herd lost its protective cave to a Dragonsaurus (fictional dinosaur created for book) and they're determined to get the cave back for the herd. Other dinosaurs help them on the way as they evade the dangerous T. Rex. They find out the Dragonsaurus is scared of sunlight. When Maia, Dazzle's adopted sister, is trapped by the Dragonsaurus, Dazzle rushes inside, catching the light in his sail and scares the Dragonsaurus away.
They return to the herd and then the whole herd moves back to the cave where they live in peace and happiness, where Dazzle doesn't have to hide from predators anymore.
May 31, 2016
My Rating:
3 stars
Summary:
Dazzle the dinosaur is a little different than the other dinosaur children. Dazzle was named for his sparkling spines on his back. Dazzle doesn't understand why Maia and her family stay in the valley where food and water are scarce. Dazzle wants to go beyond the edge of the trees but was never allowed because of predators. When Dazzle learns that Maia's family used to live in a cave where they were protected but that it was stolen from them by the dragonasaurus, Dazzle takes it upon himself to reclaim the cave, but Dazzle's sparkly spines seem to keep attracting predators. Will Dazzle and Maia be able to take back the cave.
Rationale
Marcus Pfister has done it again, only this time instead of a fish, there is a dinosaur. The story is rather cute and sends a good message about being unique and that our uniqueness should be celebrated and not ostracized just like in Rainbow Fish. However, I found this story a little too much like Rainbow Fish in that the characters may be unique, but the story is not.
3 stars
Summary:
Dazzle the dinosaur is a little different than the other dinosaur children. Dazzle was named for his sparkling spines on his back. Dazzle doesn't understand why Maia and her family stay in the valley where food and water are scarce. Dazzle wants to go beyond the edge of the trees but was never allowed because of predators. When Dazzle learns that Maia's family used to live in a cave where they were protected but that it was stolen from them by the dragonasaurus, Dazzle takes it upon himself to reclaim the cave, but Dazzle's sparkly spines seem to keep attracting predators. Will Dazzle and Maia be able to take back the cave.
Rationale
Marcus Pfister has done it again, only this time instead of a fish, there is a dinosaur. The story is rather cute and sends a good message about being unique and that our uniqueness should be celebrated and not ostracized just like in Rainbow Fish. However, I found this story a little too much like Rainbow Fish in that the characters may be unique, but the story is not.
November 28, 2012
Dazzle The Dinosaur is a cute story about two young dinosaurs who become great friends. A Maiasauruses mother dinosaur finds an egg next to her own baby egg. It looks odd but she decides to keep it anyway and mother is as her own. A sweet baby girl named Maia hatched out of the mom's egg and a shiny baby dinosaur named Dazzle with sparkles on its spines came out of the other. Maia and Dazzle became best friends. They decide to go on an adventure to get their old home that is safe and in a cave back from the frightening Dragonsaurus who took it. They meet several other types of dinosaurs along the way and eventually make it to the cave. Dazzle’s shiny spines come in handy and the two conquer the terrible dragon and get their home back!
Kids will love this book with Dazzle’s shiny spines that have texture shown on every page similar to the book Rainbow Fish also written by Marcus Pfister. Read this book at home.
Kids will love this book with Dazzle’s shiny spines that have texture shown on every page similar to the book Rainbow Fish also written by Marcus Pfister. Read this book at home.
January 11, 2023
This is an interesting story about dinosaurs, in the same vein as "The Land Before Time" movies. Danger lurks everywhere, but the little cartoon dinosaurs are cute and brave.
The descriptions in the front of the book are helpful to show which dinosaurs were real and which were imaginary and the information provided about the dinosaurs lends a bit of educational cred to the book.
It's a longer and more complicated story than The Rainbow Fish, but children who liked one will likely enjoy listening to the other as well. I thought the overall plot was a bit weak, but we enjoyed the hide and seek parts in the middle of the story.
The descriptions in the front of the book are helpful to show which dinosaurs were real and which were imaginary and the information provided about the dinosaurs lends a bit of educational cred to the book.
It's a longer and more complicated story than The Rainbow Fish, but children who liked one will likely enjoy listening to the other as well. I thought the overall plot was a bit weak, but we enjoyed the hide and seek parts in the middle of the story.
September 3, 2010
For some reason the ISBN on Julia's copy of this book leads me to Lila's Little Dinosaur on all the sites I looked. Strange and I hate when publishers share ISBN's between totally different books.
Anyway, this has a bit of a different spin than your average toddler/young child dinosaur book. Julia loved the gleaming spines on the baby dinosaurs back. We both enjoyed reading about Dazzle and Maia on their adventure. Julia's favorite parts were when she saw something in an illustration other than what the book was telling her at that moment. That was different, and quite refreshing, than anything I've seen in other books so far.
Anyway, this has a bit of a different spin than your average toddler/young child dinosaur book. Julia loved the gleaming spines on the baby dinosaurs back. We both enjoyed reading about Dazzle and Maia on their adventure. Julia's favorite parts were when she saw something in an illustration other than what the book was telling her at that moment. That was different, and quite refreshing, than anything I've seen in other books so far.
January 4, 2008
Cute book about a little dinosaur that is different from all the Maiasauruses it lives with...and in the end is a hero. I would have probably given it 5 stars, but it was a bit far-fetched (I know, I know...it's a kids book, lol). They talked about real types of dinosaurs, and then threw in a "dragonsaurus" that was afraid of light, which Dazzle was able to defeat by reflecting the light of his spines and into the dragonsaurus' eyes. Huh?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews