DINOTHESAURUS by Douglas Florian

Florian Poetry

Florian, Douglas. 2009. DINOTHESAURUS. New York, NY: Atheneum Books. ISBN
9781416979784



DINOTHESAURUS is a compilation of poems by Douglas Florian with fun facts about 18 different dinosaurs. Beginning with the Brachiosaurus, you will find humorous, witty poems including the popular T-Rex, Iguanodon, and Triceratops. This anthology is a must for any dinosaur fan. Each poem provides facts about the dinosaur in a fun, rhyming manner. Douglas Florian brings the dinosaurs to life with words and art.

Florian is the illustrator in this compilation, as well as the poet. The illustrations are collages completed onto brown paper bags. They consist of colored pencils, water colors, collage, stencils, and stamps. The illustration accompanying the poem, Tyronnosaurus rex, is very vivid. Florian uses newspaper and magazine cuttings to create a collage depicting items the T-Rex possibly had eaten. The collage type illustrations are soft and fun, different from the bold, sometimes scary, illustrations of dinosaurs often found in books.

Each poem provides the pronunciation of the dinosaur names, as well as the meaning of the name. There is a table of contents at the front of the book to help find each poem, and a 'Glossarysaurus' at the back of the book. This provides more information and facts on each dinosaur.  There is even a drawing of Mr. Florian as a dinosaur himself. 

The following is an excerpt from DINOTHESAURUS that depicts Florian's use of rhyme, rhythm, and humor. 

Barosaurus

I'm higher than five elephants.

I'm longer than most whales.

My giant neck is balanced by

My forty-three-foot tail.

A tail that is my weapon.

It swings from side to side.

From nose to tail I'm ninety feet --

Hey kid, ya wanna ride?

Classroom Connections

This book would be an excellent addition to any school library for classroom use during a dinosaur or poetry unit. The teacher can start out with a KWL chart showing what the students already know about dinosaurs. 

After reading, each student can choose a poem to act out. Douglas Florian uses lots of action in his poems throughout this book, so it would be fun for students to act out their dinosaur. 

The class could discuss the illustrations and how each shows details provided in the poem. Some of the details will be hard to find, so this can be a fun hunt and find activity for your class. Consider placing the illustrations on the projector so that the whole class can see.