J.P. and the Bossy Dinosaur (review #3), written by Ana Crespo, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Student Reviewer: Cameron J.
Summary: This book is about a little boy named J.P. who goes to a waterpark with his family. Him and his sister see a giant waterslide and become very excited to ride it. However, a giant bossy dinosaur stops him from riding it and he becomes very sad. In reality, the “bossy dinosaur” is just a sign that tells riders how tall they have to be to enter the slide. J.P. is not tall enough. After he finds out he is not tall enough, J.P. becomes devastated and very sad. In the end, J.P. realizes that he is truly a happy person and shouldn’t let a small setback put him down too much. He then celebrates with his friends and lives happily ever after.

Straight Talk for Librarians: This book actually exposes young readers to real life problems. Instead of having the reader read about fairy tales where everything is happy, the reader actually experiences a setback. But the book teaches the reader how to rebound from this setback. I like this book because it shows kids that not everything in their life is going to go their way. However, life is not about setbacks, it is about how we handle these setbacks. This book can be very helpful to children in a classroom because when something doesn't go their way, teachers can give this book to them and it will teach them how to handle their emotions and will cheer them up. The tone is sad from the beginning, which is good because a sad kid can relate with this. But then the character in the book cheers up and I think sad kids will really feel better if they read this. Additionally, the illustrations are very vibrant and nicely drawn. The bright colors will really capture a kid’s attention and the nice drawings will keep them interested. Overall, this book was a great read and will be perfect for kids in a classroom.