Skip to Main Content

Don't Ask a Dinosaur

Illustrated by Louie Chin
Published by POW! Kids Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
See More Retailers

About The Book

Don't Ask a Dinosaur is about a party that goes wildly awry when a pack of dinosaurs with very unique physical attributes attempt to help set up.

Written in a masterfully-executed rhyme, the book presents a cavalcade of lesser-known dinos and pairs their odd characteristics with little tasks that are hilariously impossible because of those features. "Don't ask Deinocheirus to set the forks and spoons," because his hands were enormous, "Therizinosaurus cannot blow up balloons," because he had very long claws. In the end they find the one thing everyone can help do is to blow out the candles on the cake...but will it create yet another mess?

About The Authors

Matt Forrest Esenwine has had several adult poems published in independent collections around the country, and in 2012 his poem, "Apple-Stealing," was nominated by the Young Adult Review Network (YARN) for a Pushcart Prize. Meanwhile, his children's poetry can be found in numerous anthologies including Kenn Nesbitt's One Minute till Bedtime (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2016), Lee Bennett Hopkins' Lullaby and Kisses Sweet (Abrams Appleseed, 2015), and J. Patrick Lewis' The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry (National Geographic Children's Books, 2015), among others, as well as "Highlights for Kids" magazine. Born just outside of Baltimore, MD, Matt lives in Warner, NH with his wife and kids. Some children know what they want to be when they grow up. Not Deborah Bruss. Her passion for writing did not develop until after she had read thousands of pages out loud to her two boys. Once she discovered a love of writing for children, her career took off. She has written humorous, educational pieces for a newspaper on subjects ranging from a porcupine bent on revenge and some seasick children on a whale watch, an award winning picture book, and a board book too. For six years she also worked as a librarian at a small public elementary school, and is also collaborating on an historical fiction middle grade novel. In 1999, Deborah, her husband and two sons adopted two girls. All of her children have grown up. She now lives in Concord, NH, with her husband and rescued-dog. Louie Chin was born in New York City. His comics and illustrations have appeared in a variety of publications and projects, including The New York Times, Boston Globe, and Nike. Louie is especially happy to illustrate this book, since hespent hours reading the dinosaur edition of Childcraft as a kid, being fascinated, yet scared learning about them. Hecurrently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

About The Illustrator

Born and raised in New York, Louie Chin is an illustrator whose work includes commercial and editorial content, as well as individual commissions. He has created illustrations for a variety of publications and projects, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Nike, and the children's book, Don't Ask a Dinosaur (POW!, 2018). Working with both traditional and modern media, such as watercolor, gouache, and software, his biggest influences and inspirations come from comics, movies, and his daily observations of life in NYC. He has always been an animal lover, and there is one family pet in particular from which he drew inspiration for Bodega Cat: a spirited and feisty orange tabby cat named Simba. His favorite bodega order is coffee and an egg and sausage sandwich on a toasted roll. Bodega Cat is the first book that he both wrote and illustrated. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

  • Publisher: POW! Kids Books (April 17, 2018)
  • Length: 32 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781576878415
  • Ages: 3 - 7

Browse Related Books

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this illustrator: Louie Chin