Brianosaurus by Ged Adamson (review)

Reviewed by: Brianosaurus by Ged Adamson Danica Ronquillo Adamson, Ged Brianosaurus; written and illus. by Ged Adamson. Two Lions, 2024 40p Trade ed. ISBN 9781542039376 17. 99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 3-6 yrs After reading about how frogs were around when dinosaurs roamed the earth, Brian the frog decides that he is a dinosaur. He changes his name to Brianosaurus, wears a green spiky dinosaur costume, and lets out a mighty roar as he plays with his friends in the forest. In the pond, the other frogs disapprove of a dinosaur in their midst, but his forest pals initially think Brianosaurus is pretty cool as they play chase and run around together. Soon, though, they begin to exclude him from their play, because dinosaurs, they insist, are mean and don't use trampolines or read books. Brianosaurus tries to accommodate both the frogs and the forest critters by unhappily forcing himself to act like the "froggiest frog, " sitting on lily pads croaking, and "dinosaury dinosaur, " chasing and playfully roaring at his friends. Eventually, though, Brianosaurus realizes that communicating his feelings and being himself make him truly happy. With a delightfully expressive amphibious protagonist, Adamson's story shares what it means to stay true to oneself even in the face of other people's (or creature's) demands. The mixed media of the spring color palette of watercolor and thin pencil textures creates an exuberant atmosphere for Brian and his friends to nurture their imagination. Speech bubbles highlight the animals' increasingly heightened emotions, while side-by-side pages convey Brian's confusion and frustration in both settings as he acts like a frog or dinosaur End Page 239 to please everyone. During the confrontation between the frogs and the woodland creatures about what Brian is and his unusual behavior, he speaks up for himself and declares, "We're all ALL Me-osauruses. . . Nobody can say what a ME-osaurus does, because every ME-osaurus is DIFFERENT, " underscoring the message for young readers to embrace their unique selves. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois