Book Review: Dinosaur Kisses by David Ezra Stein

Book: Dinosaur Kisses
Author: David Ezra Stein
Illustrator: David Ezra Stein
Published: 2013
Source: Local Library

A newborn dinosaur witnesses a kiss and wants to try it out. But she’s predisposed toward stomping and chomping, and the kisses don’t really go well. Actually, disaster is a more accurate description. Poor Dinah! Will she ever successfully kiss anybody?

Do you guys know how hard it is for me to find Valentine’s Day books that aren’t swimming in pink and twee adorableness? It’s hard, I tell you. Luckily, there’s a book like Dinosaur Kisses to fill the gap.

Even though the dry, funny text is a winner, the pictures really make this book. They’re simple and yet enormously expressive. At one point, Dinah goes back to her egg to think. The picture shows her plopped next to half of her eggshell, the other half perched on her head like a hat, a consternated expression on her face. It makes you laugh and feel for her at the same time.