Lulu and the Brontosaurus

Lulu is, shall we say, a bit spoiled. What she wants she gets, and if her parents say no she throws a fit. Picture Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - selfish and shameless. With her birthday approaching, Lulu decides that what she would really like more than anything is a pet brontosaurus. But for the first time in memory Lulu's parents actually put their collective foot down and give her a firm no. After all brontosauruses are huge and wild and would certainly not make a good pet. Stubborn to the end, Lulu refuses to take no for an answer and storms off into the woods determined to bring home a brontosaurus. All the while she chants a rhyme to herself: "I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna gonna get / A bronto-bronto-bronto-brontosaurus for a pet!" But when she finally finds one, what will Lulu do when the dinosaur refuses to come home with her?

Author Judith Viorst is perhaps best knows for her classic picture book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Lulu and the Brontosaurus is her latest work, and I have to say that this short chapter book is quite clever. The narration is whimsical and clever and absolutely begs to be read aloud. The story's weird curveballs are very well paced and don't become overbearing - impressive considering the briefness of the text. Lulu is a character that will make readers smile even when she is acting like a total brat, and her growth over the course of the story adds a sweet, not-preachy moral to the tale. The award-winning Lane Smith rounds out this fun book with expressive illustrations.

This book does feature one very unique feature that you won't find in most books: Alternate endings! Who doesn't love that?

Overall Grade: A-