Stegothesaurus

By Bridget Heos, illustrated by T.L. McBeth
Henry Holt & Co., 2018
Picture book, 40 pages, ages 4-8

Stegothesaurus is different from his brothers. He loves words. And this is just fine, until an allosaurus lurks in the bushes. His brothers prudently run away, but Stegothesaurus is too busy thinking of all the words to describe the danger: f-f-frightening, formidable, fearsome. Will his love of words bring about his untimely end … expiration … extinction?

This book is great! Exceptional! Tremendous!

While kids might not be familiar with what a thesaurus is, this book is a fantastic introduction. Without any explanation, it clearly demonstrates what synonyms are and how they enrich language (sometimes). More than that, it’s a wonderful story and just plain fun.

The simple, candy-colored artwork is a perfect companion to the text. Together, words and pictures tell a hilarious story with just a touch of danger. The friendly artwork assures the reader that this is a safe story – maybe a little scary, but not too scary.

This clever, jocular, side-splitting story will definitely make you roar with laughter. It will also build vocabulary – readers won’t even realize they’re learning. And it subtly teaches a life lesson: there’s a time and place for everything. Very highly recommended for any word nerd or lover of comedy.

Stegothesaurus by Bridget Heos gets 5 stars from this reviewer.