Rory the Dinosaur Wants a Pet

Rory the Dinosaur #2

by Liz Climo

In this companion to Rory the Dinosaur: Me and My Dad, Rory learns that sometimes the things you're looking for are actually looking for you!

When Rory meets his friend Sheldon's pet crab, he realizes he wants a pet of his own. He searches high and low—from tree tops to sand pits—for a creature to love. At the end of the day, when Rory least expects it, he meets George. Liz Climo celebrates the bond between child and pet with her adorable, deceptively simple illustrations in this timeless story of a child's quest for companionship.

Don't Miss!: Rory the Dinosaur: Me and My Dad, Rory the Dinosaur Needs a Christmas Tree

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, Childrens, Storytime, Pets, Animals, Fiction

34 pages, Hardcover

First published June 7, 2016

About the author

Liz Climo grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to Los Angeles after college to work as a character artist on The Simpsons. She started a comic blog, LizClimo.tumblr.com, where Rory and his dad first appeared in 2012. Liz currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Colin, and their daughter, Marlow.

Liz Climo is a character artist for The Simpsons TV series and has worked on The Lebrons and Seth Macfarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. She also the author of Le Petit Monde de Liz, a comic collection published in France as well as a forthcoming children’s book. She lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Rod Brown]

The story starts out cute enough as the little dinosaur decides to search for a pet, but his selection in the end is just too nutty for me.

[Abigail]

Rory the little dinosaur returns in this follow-up to Rory the Dinosaur: Me and My Dad , this time finding, after a play date with his friends, that he really wants a pet of his own. Walking home, he sees a variety of creatures who might make pets, but there is always a hindrance, whether it be unwillingness to perform that role (the turtle), or being out of Rory's reach (the jungle animals). Then, when all seems hopeless, a coconut falls at his feet...

Like its predecessor, Rory the Dinosaur Wants a Pet pairs simple but appealing cartoon-style illustrations with a sweet story, one in which the eponymous prehistoric hero undergoes a common childhood experience - in this case, wanting a pet - and manages to resolve it happily. I'm not sure that I'm convinced that a coconut makes for the best pet, but I guess if Rory's happy, who am I to quibble? Recommended to Liz Climo fans, and to anyone who read and enjoyed the first story about Rory the dinosaur.

[Shannon]

Rory the Dinosaur Wants a Pet

I Picked Up This Book Because: Liz Climo binge

The Story:

Really cute. I liked Rory more in this book than in the last. Definitely going to have to buy these for my niece and nephew when they are past their “tear all paper” stage.

The Random Thoughts:

#LibraryLoveChallenge

4 Stars

[Laura]

This was an unexpected fun short read. Great kids book!

[Brona's Books]

It's hard not to love Rory and his dad.

Their simple lives, so delicately drawn by Climo, are genuinely touching and heartwarming but Rory comes across as being a little bit too simple in this story about finding a pet.

I wasn't sure whether I wanted to laugh or cry at Rory's solution to the pet problem. Perhaps his dad's helicoptering parenting style (as seen in the first book) isn't allowing Rory to make good choices for himself?

The solution is clever and tragic at the same time.

Making do, compromise and acceptance are all good traits to develop, but some better decision making skills might help Rory achieve his goals.

I know, I know, it's a picture book for kids, right?
But I'm weirdly that invested in Rory and his dad, that I want things to turn out okay for both of them. I sincerely hope Climo is writing and illustrating book four as we speak!

[Rossella]

Bacini al cuoco!

[Becky B]

After play with his friend Hank's new pet, Rory decides he wants a pet too. He looks around for a pet, but can't find one. Just when he's about to give up, though, a pet finds him.

Parents who don't want all the work of a real pet will love the pet Rory finds. It is a coconut. It's very low maintenance and Rory loves it. A cute story with an unexpected solution. Pair this one with Sophie's Squash for a compare/contrast activity about kids who love an edible friend.

[Trần Quốc Tuấn]

A good picture book for kids and me :)

[Christina]

2.5 stars. I love Liz Climo’s cartoons, and I thought the first book in this series had a similar style as the illustrations add another level to the story. I think she tried with this one, but it just felt a bit too cliche in terms of plotting. It has the whole talk to various animal, none of whom is the right one that has been around for decades, and then the repetition as Rory does the same things with his new pet as his friend did. I guess the humor is supposed to be in the pet he chooses, but it’s too subtle.

[A Allen]

I must admit that I think a coconut makes a strange pet; I'm getting major Castaway vibes, but I guess I had a pet rock as a child so maybe kids would be into a pet coconut these days. I loved the page where Rory asks if another creature wants to be a pet because a) it's important to ask for consent and b) we should consider if animals would be happy as our pet. Many creatures aren't happy as pets, such as foxes or tigers, and often end up at rescues.

[Heydi Smith]

Honestly, I never picked up this book because the illustrations just don't appeal to me. My co- worker handed it to me and said you've got to read this. She was right! This book is amazingly cute. A definite storytime read.

[Scott Calton]

This was a fun story to read for two reasons. First, it took me back to when I was a kid and wanting a new pet. Secondly, Rory reminded me of my kids, they are always wanting a new pet. It was great that Rory's friend had a hermit crab because we have two.

[skcocnaH]

I really love Liz Climo’s simple illustrations. The idea that a kid can take a coconut and turn it into a pet is really cute. My only complaint and why I took a star off is because the type hierarchy was confusing sometimes.

[Claire]

Adorable story. Plus a pet coconut will be really well behaved. So cute!

[Steph]

He names him GEORGE! Like my puppy George! And he has red and white striped pajamas, like my puppy does!

Oh, and I completely adore everything Liz Climo does, so there's that.

[Katrina Clohessy]

Cute, funny story about a little dinosaur who has trouble finding a pet of his own, until a coconut "finds" instead and becomes his new pet.
Bright, comic-style illustrations.

[Kelly]

Another cute Rory story.

[Jillian]

These books are too cute. Period.

[Brett]

Not my favorite Rory book, but still super cute.

[BreAnna (Bre'sBooks)]

3.5 stars

[Kest Schwartzman]

The concept of "a pet" is pretty grey, here

[Ruth]

The comic-strip style artwork is adorable! I'll be reading all of these!

[Colorado Buck]

came close to using for a storytime on pets with our pet bearded dragon. also was going to use the dino puppet with it as well when reading story. cute, not that memorable though.

[Andrea]

So very cute. Will enjoy reading to my son when he's older.

[ErinTheLibrarian]

Just plain fun. Good storytime or laptime book for ages 3-7. Rory looks everywhere for a pet but a pet finds him--a coconut! They play on the teeter totter, play dress up, have bathtime.

[Melissa]

Cute. Maybe a bit long for storytime but could skip a page or two.

[ziyuan ʚɞ Reads Dark Smut.]

Ohh!!!🥹🥹🥹

[Sheila]

An animal wanted another animal to be his pet... kinda felt like....... slavery.............

Thankfully a coconut saved the day.

[Christine Grant]

Dinosaur Storytime

Rory wants a pet and is very excited when one follows him home. Turns out that the pet is a coconut, and he is delighted!

[Pam]

Rory finds an interesting pet who mostly does what he wants it to do. Humorous take on pets and relationships.