Dachy's Deaf

PreS-Gr 2—Dinosaurs who suffer from disorders or special needs educate readers about their lives through fictional narratives that include only a tiny amount of health information. Plotlines are predictable: Steggy stutters, and as a result, she can't warn her friends not to go into a dark forest, while a dinosaur who needs glasses can't see well enough to escape a bear. Readers will come away with a general understanding of what it's like to live with various conditions, although the writing is so generic that one won't necessarily bond with the dinosaurs as characters. The illustrations are weak: the colors are dull, and the design has a dated quality. These titles lack the health information expected from nonfiction, but they aren't entertaining enough for fiction. A hybrid experiment that falls flat.