Rainbowsaurus

by Steve Antony

A joyful and fun read-along tale of one family's quest to find the Rainbowsaurus, featuring lots of colorful creatures.

A joyful and fun read-along tale of one family's quest to find the Rainbowsaurus, featuring lots of colorful creatures.

We're following a rainbow to find the Rainbowsaurus.

We're following a rainbow. Would you like to join us?

Join two dads and their three children as they set off on an adventure to find the Rainbowsaurus. On their way, they meet animals that are all the colors of the rainbow who all want to find the Rainbowsaurus too.

From the author and illustrator of the Mr Panda series and The Queen's Hat collection, comes this instantly classic-feeling adventure. A perfect story to read at bedtime again and again.

Genres: Picture Books, LGBT, Dinosaurs, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

Published February 27, 2024

About the author

Since his 2014 debut, Steve Antony has so far written and illustrated over 20 picture books, including the Mr Panda series, The Queen Collection, Unplugged, Green Lizards Vs Red Rectangles, Amazing and You Can. Steve has been nominated seven times and long listed once for the Kate Greenaway Medal. The Queen's Hat was adapted into a musical concert by the London Symphony Orchestra and won the Evening Standard's Oscar's Book Prize. His award winning Mr Panda series has so far sold over one million copies worldwide and has been optioned for TV. Steve also illustrated Tim Minchin's When I Grow Up, a cover of the Famous Five and the all-new Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (adapted by Peter Bently). He has contributed work to the LGBTQ+ Pride YA anthology and Drawing Europe Together.

Reviews

[Vera Elwood]

This easily became one of my favorite picture books for reading aloud to children. I will be buying this for my nephew immediately and then will be buying a copy for all future babies in my life.

[Steph]

Turn/Level: 1/3

Longer, LGBT(not obvious), really mostly about colors

[Amber]

Toddlers, preschool, and school-age
A Pride dino!

[Colleen]

Author: Steve Antony
Title: Rainbowsaurus
Publication date: 2024
Category: Concept book or storytime book
Interest level: Pre-K to Kindergarten
Brief Annotation: Two adults and some children are off to find the rainbowsaurus and on their way they find different color animals
Themes: Colors, animals, dinosaurs, LGBTQ
Ways to use this book with children: This book seems to be a book about Pride and LGBTQ, but it is subtle enough that it could be used to just discuss colors.
Diversity: Can be read as LGBTQ and the colors relate to the Progress/LGBTQ flag
Where/how you found the book: I think I was searching for books to use for this class using my public library.
Other Information: Depending on the summary, it is labelling the two male characters as the parents of the children and that it is about Pride, but the insides of the book could be argued that it is not about Pride and LGBTQ. Due to various adults opinions, caution may want to be taken when using it directly, instead of a child just grabbing off the shelf to look at.

[Josh Campeau]

Could be a fun read-a-loud for ages 3-5. It has a lyrical quality and would be good to get a call and response with kids because of the colors and animal noises utilized through the book. Also it's a queer family book which I love. 3.5/5

[Jennifer]

I was at least a third of the way through the book before I realized that the family searching for Rainbowsaurus had two dads. This is a fun book about animals and colors and would be appropriate for story time.

[Denicemarcell]

Read because this story like Big Wig was read in children's storytime.

The animals arrive in the order of the colours of the prism ROYGBIV plus black and white.
Audience participation is a given with the repetition.

[Elizabeth]

This book has a nice beat to it.

[Sean Harding]

20th Steve Antony book has a lock of colourful creatures and a the title character in a skinny absurdist plot.
Some young readers will love the colourful array of creatures.

[Pinky LO]

GREAT STORYTIME BOOK

[Gecko]

Fantastic book read to us by the fabulous Mama G which is the best way to experience books really!

[Ms. Madalyn]

Just not my vibe, also probably too long for storytime.

[Dinah King]

this is very cute, every page a different animal and color. if you want a read aloud to pair with Brown Bear, Brown Bear, this would be a fun choice

[Daisy Thompson]

What a great color book. The colors don't match the animal that they are attached to, which i like and it breaks the stereotypical mold.
Paired with bright and silly illustrations.

[Christie Angleton]

What a joy to read aloud!

[Emily ☠️]

A lovely bedtime story which is very much enjoyed in my family 🩷🧡💛💚🤎💙🩵💜🏳️‍🌈

[Alyssa Mandell]

A fun story about a family looking for the rainbowsaurus. On the way they find animals in each rainbow color.

[Marianne]

simple and sweet book about colors

[Fatima Seraj Alam]

Yes it’s a rainbow book about different coloured animals and a
family consisting of two dads but that isn’t the focus. The focus is on finding a rainbowsaurus and riding the rainbow.

[Earl]

Cute story full of animals sounds to read out loud with incidental LGBTQ+ representation.

[Kitchen Sink Books]

Did you think that if the word you were hearing or reading ended in ‘saurus’ it must refer to a dinosaur of some sort? Well, Steve Antony would like to prove you wrong and introduce you to Rainbowsaurus – he is not a dinosaur, he is the Rainbowsaurus! Don’t believe me? I strongly suggest finding a copy of this beautifully vibrant book and looking for yourself. Whilst you are there, I should advise that you are also going to be introduced to two dads, their three children, ten colours, animals, and sounds so I hope that you are ready to have some fun, pay some close attention and do a little teeny tiny bit of learning along the way… I have a feeling that this book will become a classic that children read, save, share, read to their own children in years to come. There is something special about it. Something unique, simple and yet complex, something that we know will draw us back to it over and over again. This is a story meant for sharing.

We are usually told that if we follow the rainbow, we are looking for a pot of gold but not in this story. Nope. This family are following the rainbow to find the Rainbowsaurs and they are inviting us along on the adventure. I think we should join them and the red cow with his moo, agrees. As we follow the rainbow, the family, and the cow across the pages we soon meet an orange snake and a yellow cat, both of whom want to join in the search. Green pig, indigo bear and violet turkey are soon included too. Before long the party are joined by black duck, brown bee, blue sheep, and pink donkey, not forgetting white rooster! Oh, and of course, before I forget, as the group grows so do all the sounds they make, be sure to make them too as you learn the colours, the animals, and the sounds all together. But there is a problem, they don’t seem to have found the Rainbowsaurus yet. I wonder where he could be. Do you think we might find out before we get to the end of the book? I do hope he is real…