Dinosaur vs. School

Dinosaur vs.

by Bob Shea

From the popular Dinosaur vs. series comes another rambunctious read-aloud that will tickle toddlers, teachers and parents at back-to-school time and every day after!

Dinosaur is starting preschool today. ROAAAR! There are new friends to meet, dress-up outfits to wear, glitter and googly eyes to paste, musical instruments to play, and snacks to eat. What's not to like? But then... oh, no! It's Dinosaur vs. Clean-up Time! Fortunately, when friends work together, everyone wins! With all the bright colors, bold lines, and toddler-like exuberance that have made the previous Dinosaur vs. books irresistible, DINOSAUR VS. SCHOOL will both amuse and reassure anyone going off to school for the first time.

* "Shea's illustrations are as unruly and imaginative as ever in this pitch-perfect, egocentric take on living (school) life to the max." — Publishers Weekly , starred review

Don't miss the other Dinosaur vs.
Dinosaur Vs. Bedtime
Dinosaur Vs. Mommy
Dinosaur Vs. the Potty
Dinosaur Vs. the Library

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, School, Childrens, Storytime, Humor, Back To School

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 17, 2014

About the author

Bob Shea has written and illustrated over a dozen picture books including the popular Dinosaur vs. Bedtime and the cult favorite Big Plans illustrated by Lane Smith.

His characters and animations have appeared on Nick Jr, Playhouse Disney and PBS Kids.

Bob spends his days writing, drawing and having “conversations” with NPR.

Reviews

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my toddler's story time. Dinosaur vs everything and wins but in the end dinosaurs vs cleaning then it's too much for one dinosaur so it needed everyone's help.

Gifted to us from our cousin.

[Amberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh boy. This book is really dumb. The dinosaur goes to school and each activity is “Dinosaur versus (insert activity here, like dressing up or making friends)”. Then there are two pages of chaotic pictures and it is declared that dinosaur wins. In the end, dinosaur and his new friends have to do something they’ve “never done before” - clean up. Seriously? Don’t waste your time on this one.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The whole "Dinosaur vs..." range is a bit hit in our house. These are some of our go-to books each night for reading and I'm thankful our local library has a good selection of them.

Each book features Dinosaur taking on various events like going to school, learning to use the potty, or going to bed. Our favorite is "Dinosaur vs Bedtime" in which Dinosaur fights going to bed but (SPOILER alert) ultimately succumbs to sleeping. "Dinosaur vs Bedtime" is one of the books that Shortcake can read back to me, including knowing where to turn the pages.

However, she enjoys it far more when I read it to her with silly sounds (Dinosaur taking on talking grown-ups is a particular favorite) and acting out Dinosaur slowly giving into sleep.

Bob Shea's books are fun, entertaining and a huge hit in our house. There are even some short animated videos on YouTube for Dinosaur.

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dinosaur goes to preschool, excels at roaring, has fun, learns to cooperate with other students. There's nothing surprising here, it follows the Dinosaur vs. format perfectly. But, it is fun to read aloud, kids like the roaring, and it gives a nice preview of preschool for those who haven't been yet.

Did I mention the roaring? I love that.

Library copy

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book 5 stars before I even opened it. Why? Because that is how much confidence I have in Bob Shea to deliver the picture book goods. He has never failed to make me laugh yet, and that friends, is a gift indeed. Three cheers for Mr. Shea!

[Adrianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 3 year old laughed on just about every page. We love this series!

[ColumbusReads · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yep, the 3-yr old loves dinosaurs but fell asleep on this one. I fell asleep while reading it. Boorrrriiinnnggg!!

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dinosaurs cause trouble at school...I KNEW IT! I love this series...brings back lots of good memories.

[Olivia Thames · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I checked for my mother, who too loves a good children's book, Bob Shea's "Dinosaur VS. School" was hilarious, fun, and would make a great addition to any story time, or school, classroom, or public library!

While reading through the book for the first time at my desk, I could not stop laughing as each time our friend Dinosaur overcame a new hurdle on his first day of school, because he did so with such gusto and confidence! This alone is enough to encourage parents and teachers to read this early in the first days and weeks of the school year.

I also found signing the book to be a joy, and will hopefully get the chance to sign this and other books in the series during an ASL story time!

Go out and find a copy of this book, you and your family will not regret it!

[Khari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sure to be popular with little boys, this book is amusing and engaging, but, I wonder at it.

The Dinosaur goes to school and conquers things like making friends and using glue by...roaring?

It's funny. It's cute. It's not exactly behavior I would encourage in my children, were I to have them.

Not sure about this one.

Story: Narrative
Art: Simple
Price: $7.99

I did panic a bit when I saw that the publisher was Hyperion, I immediately had flashbacks to the Shrike series by Dan Simmons, fortunately they have nothing to do with each other. Apparently Disney studios was on Hyperion Avenue before 1939 and that's where the name came from. Thank you Internet.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the Read Aloud Treasury: As Dinosaur encounters meeting new friends, dressing up, crafts, snacks, and music, nothing can stop him. He shouts, “Dinosaur wins!” every time until he he faces his biggest challenge. Predictable text will have kids joining Dinosaur as he roars with each obstacle in his way. At first, the book felt a bit off because he’s not actually overcoming obstacles, he’s realizing they’re not obstacles, but then it made sense that is the way he’s overcoming them. I especially like the ending of the book and how the focus shifts from the dinosaur to everyone. This would be a good read aloud and conversation starter for kids who are fearful of going to school.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book for story time was just a no for me. I don't remember there being any storyline except it's dinosaur vs. everything he comes into contact with at school. A teacher's worse nightmare... a kid who wants to destroy everything and who thinks they win at everything.

Read more The Book Banana by Kathleen the Bookworm and on Kathleen the Bookworm's Instagram.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always loved Bob Shea, but the more I read the Dinosaur vs. series, I wonder if kids are really getting what it means to be vs and win - there's a lot of subtle humor here that seems to work best with maybe 4-6 yr olds and goes over the head of younger kids. But then again, there's lots of roaring and fun illustrations so maybe it doesn't matter that much.

[Aolund · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple look at some common preschool activities seen through the lens of a gleefully roaring dinosaur. Repetitive in a good way, and the pictures are chunky and almost abstract, inviting interesting conversations with kids about what they make of the art.

Themes: School, Dinosaurs, Loud/quiet

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Dinosaur vs. ____ books seem to be books largely about a dinosaur throwing a fit and getting his way on many things. Not something I'd want to encourage in my children. With so many other fun books by Bob Shea I'd skip this one series of his.

[Books And Hooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read to my son, age 4. He loves everything that has a dinosaur in it. He stayed engaged the whole time. He enjoyed the images and identifying various items but I don’t think he really “got” the point of each situation that Dinosaur “vs”.

[Rani · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is fun day for the dinosaur at pre school until....

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are always a crowd pleaser. They are simple and easy to get the audience engaged. And it’s almost always something that they can win at too.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apparently if you’re animated enough in the kids room at the library you get a lot of attention. All the kids loved the book!

[Liz C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invited my preschoolers to roar along with me on every page. They adored it.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

[Chinook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than Dinosaur vs Mom and the girls adored the google eyes.

[Erica Flory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too cute

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Dinosaur heads to school where he will take on snacks, dressing up, crafts and more. Kids will love to "roar" with Dinosaur.

[Arielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. Simple. Clear message of working together and achieving together. Quick.

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars with extra points for googly eyes. Just not seeing the appeal.

[Ad Astra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. I would like to read this to my kid before they start school. Pep them up a it. My fav of the series, only have read 3 so far.

[Sarah Limb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly, fun and kooky! I think this would be fun to read to Lydia before her first day of school. ❤️

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t love this series myself, but Maddie sure does.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roar... love it