This was a fun, original read. There are so many picture books about dinosaurs that I was nice to read a fresh take on them. The illustrations are fun and whimsical and add a lot to the story. The back matter really sets this book apart. There are questions about stegosaurs with the answers hidden in the images throughout the book. It becomes a sort of look and find.

I will be posting this review on my blog in mid-January, closer to when the book is released.

Silly story but I can certainly some of kids who are super into dinosaurs liking this story.

Gary, a stegosaurus, dreams of becoming a pirate. Think it's possible for the big guy?

He gives it his best shot but his body size gives him grief because Captain One-Tooth tells him it's mandatory to wear pirate clothes and nothing fits his over-sized body. Due to his hefty weight he keeps the ship rocking no matter where he stands and nearly tips it over. Now that's a BIG problem. He shreds the sails with his prickly tail, breaks the crow's nest because of his weight, and misinterprets the poop deck sign when he has to go to the bathroom. Oh my! Gary is turning out to be a liability on that pirate voyage I think, don't you?

The other crew members are not amused when they discover he is a vegetarian and collectively give him stink-eye. He shows his true colours after another bad pirate ship comes within firing range and shoots cannonballs at them. Gary hits the deck and tries to hide but to no avail... he's too huge to even hide. His fellow pirates are not one bit impressed and probably are very happy with Captain One-Tooth's decision to terminate Gary's pirate position.

Poor guy, maybe his dream of being a pirate and sailing the seven seas is just a pipe-dream after all. Did this turn him off and did he give up on pursuing something brand new and exciting? Wait until you find out what he chooses to go after next!!!! It will make you laugh out loud I'm sure. Got to give him credit ... he thinks BIG!!!

I love the book and the illustrations are detailed, action-packed and full of humour. They have answers to some question asked at the end of the book embedded in them making this interactive component such fun for the reader. The book has dinosaur facts at the end too enabling young readers to learn more about these magnificent creatures. It's a fun read-aloud (in your best pirate's voice of course) and would be a great addition to a classroom or a school or family library. I highly recommend this book.

This was adorable! This book was funny and had wonderful illustrations. The humor was dead on and I think kids will really enjoy it. It would be a perfect bedtime or storytime read.

This was a really good book and teaches kids to never give up. A really funny book that my kids loved.

This is a super cute story of the misadventures of a stegosaurus pirate. The illustrations are very entertaining.

Dinosaurs and Pirates, what more could you ask for. Gary the Stegosaurus wants to be a pirate. Unfortunately he has some issues due to his body and his size. Even though he is trying to do a good job, he ends up messing things up. The illustrations were great. They were bright, colourful and humorous as well as having some hidden jokes and answers to questions in them. Watch for the nod to the Titanic Movie. At the end of the book is an questions section where you can use the page number given to find the answers hidden in the illustrations. A cute story that young children will enjoy and parents will enjoy reading to them, especially if you can do a good pirate voice. A great addition to public, school, classroom and family libraries.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

So I just had to have this book when I saw it over on Netgalley. Pirates? Dinosaurs? A combination of two favourite things? Sign me up! I was delighted that I got approved for this book.

This book chronicles the tales of Gary (yes, really, Gary) Stego. Who is a Stegosaurus (duh), but also a pirate (arrr!). I am sure that most of you can imagine the chaos that happens when you put a dinosaur as big as Gary on a ship.

We see Gary do his utter best, but sadly... it just doesn't work. When he has to climb the mast, the mast can't handle him. Clothes don't fit him (though eventually they seemed to manage something). Every two pages is something that tells us that Gary may just have to give up on his dream as pirate. It is pretty hilarious, and I didn't think it was that repetitive. Sure, you knew that what followed next would be a disaster, but what would happen? You didn't know. Would Gary sink the boat next? Or would he accidentally throw people off board?

The ending? I definitely didn't expect that career switch. :P Poor guy at the end, I hope he survives this.

The art is pretty decent. A bit simple, and Gary's proportions seem to go from normal-sized, to a bit bigger than normal, to huge.

There are also questions at the end. I think it would have been more fun had the page numbers been removed. That would make it more of a hunt, now it was fairly easy to skip to those pages and spot the hint.
Lastly we also have a fact file on Stegosaurus.

All in all, I quite enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to all the dinosaur and pirate lovers out there. :)

Gary the Stegosaurus wants to be a pirate. Unfortunately he has a few physical characteristics that keep this from being the ideal job. Poor Gary tries to do a good job but is constantly causing problems. Bright colorful illustrations show the humor in a Stegosaurus trying to be a pirate. At the end of the book is an answer the questions section where you can use the page "clues" to find the answers hidden in the text.

--I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are purely my own and not influenced in any way.--
This book was adorable! The art I really liked, and the humor is certainly there. The idea of asking questions about stegosaurus and hiding answers in the story is fantastic and would be a nice bonus to little dinosaurs and pirates alike!

This book is funny and has great illustrations to go with the humor. Kids will love this book especially the bathroom joke. This would be great to read for dinosaur and or pirate storytimes.

A Stegosaurus Would NOT Make a Good Pirate was a quick, easy to read story about a stegasaurus that tried to be a pirate, quite unsuccessfully. The story flowed really and I think children will be entertained by it. The post story discussion questions and facts were just as fun as the rest of the story. I look forward to sharing it with students in the future.

Age appropriate book with complimentary illustrations. It was really a cute story about the plights a dinosaur has when trying to complete pirate tasks. I love the Dinosaur Digs part in the end to keep kids engaged in the material.

This was a fun book to read with my kids and it would definitely be perfect to have around when “Speak Like a Pirate” Day arrives.

The story wonderfully teaches a lesson on how sometimes what we dream of doing may not be possible but that’s okay because we should never stop dreaming to find the perfect fit. At the end of the story there is a fun Dino Dig where answers to the questions are hidden in the art work throughout the book. There ae also facts, discussion questions and a glossary that help turn a fun experience into an educational one as well.

The art work is vivid and perfect with the story as it really brings to life this adorable and well-intentioned dinosaur. There was plenty of humor sprinkled throughout the art like the pirate flag whose traditional skull and crossbones kept changing its expression depending on what was going on in the story. The requisite parrot who seemed to take all the mishaps at ease by finding underwear for the dino, floating on a plastic raft and drinking ‘coffee’?

My favorite was what appeared to be a nod to the Titanic movie where there was a female pirate on a raft while the guy was in the water clinging to the edge.

As a mom I had fun reading this, especially in a pirate voice which made my daughters laugh, and they enjoyed the story. It gave us a great opportunity to talk about some of the things they want to do when they grow up, what it would take to get there and what other things might they enjoy if the first turned out to be something they didn’t want to do after all.

I liked having a book that turned into an opportunity to learn more about my kids.

This would be a fun book to read at Story Time. Gary just wants to be a good pirate, but his plates get in the way, he’s too big, and he almost did a number two on the poop deck. While a stegosaurus would not make a very good pirate, it does make for a fun book.

Ahoy, me mateys! This book were bein' a fun ride. Chock full of colourful pictures and plenty o' pirate characters, I enjoyed readin' this story. Gary the Stegosaurus does his best t' please Cap'n One-Tooth. Avast! He gets fired!

Gary was not bein' the right size for pirate clothes, he be too big, his tail be too spiky, he not be eatin' pirate food, and he not be good at countin'. Maybe there be 'nother job perfect for a Stegosaurus, eh?

Cap'n Thomas Kingsley Troupe, ye did a good job. Cap'n Steph Calvert, ye drawin' ability be full o' whimsy. Lads and lasses, they be enjoyin' this here book.

I be receivin' an ARC of this book from me mateys at NetGalley (thank ye to NetGalley and Capstone for givin' me the opportunity) in exchange for tellin' 'em what I be thinkin' of it. Arrr!

This is a beautifully comedic story with some fantastic factual information throughout the book. There are some wonderfully funny moments and I had a permanent smile on my face as I read this book. When I read books like this, I get me excited because you know when you read it to a child that it is going to be well received with lots of love and giggles. Writing about dinosaurs and pirates in one book is a big win because children love books about both which has become evident during my role as a librarian.

Part of the book that I thought was very funny was the changing face on the skull and crossbones on the pirate flag. The look on its face when the boat is tipping is particularly funny and something I would point out in a Storytime session to make the children laugh.

What adds to the enjoyment of the book is the little things that could easily slip by unseen. An example of this is on the verso where there is a little resume for Gary Stego which sets up the story, and throughout the book the pirate hat whose skull and crossbones face mimics the pirate who is wearing it. These parts of book create more fun and are great for children’s literacy, because they create opportunity for conversation between child and adult, and child to child.

I would love to see something similar in other books as the Dino Dig that is in the rear of this book. The Dino Dig is a list of questions where the answers can be found throughout the book. From a literacy perspective this is a fantastic idea, it is not only encouraging conversation but also thinking, problem solving and working together.

I was disappointed with parts of the illustrations because the proportions are out on some of the pages, and some pictures lack definition.

Overall, it is a funny story that is engaging for children that will provide lots of laughs, conversation and information.