I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

All About Allosaurus was not about "friendship, gratitude, perseverance, and overcoming fears." It was about manipulation, bullying, and self-pity. Allosaurus was jealous of T. rex's popularity, so he decided to write a book about himself. He kept bumping into other dinosaurs that wanted to be included in his book, and despite his initial protests of "It's all about Me!", Allosaurus caved as they cried and bullied their way onto his pages. After adding everyone else, Allosaurus said his book was finished and claimed there was nothing special about him (which is not how or why this story started), and the others had to convince him otherwise (ugh). The writing was choppy, the dialogue was confusing, and the story itself was very off-putting. I think this book sends the wrong message(s) to children, and I wouldn't recommend it.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on December 23, 2019.

I was unable to download the book, due to personal reasons, during the download time, so I never got to download to read. If you can let me download,. we will happily review asap.

It's really unfortunate that this cute, brightly illustrated children's book featuring dinosaurs is so (ironically) selfish. For a book that is supposed to be about why we shouldn't be selfish and want to always talk about us; it does a very poor job of explaining, or even have any notion, of why Allosaurus is wrong to be jealous and should instead cherish everyone for their own unique traits.
In a world where we should want children to value themselves for themselves it's disappointing to see that this entire book starts out with Allosaurus wanting to talk about anyone but T. Rex; and yet in the end only ends up telling us about themselves in comparison to T. Rex?! This message to children is not what I would have hoped. It instead indicates that they are only as interesting as they compare to the most popular person around them. While the author likely had the intent to mean that everyone is special in their own way; the comparison just comes off wrong for me.
I do like that Allosaurus ends up learning about all his other dinosaur friends (and writing a book about them all even though they really intended the book be about themselves). And does come to grips with the concept that leaving T. Rex out just because they are tired of hearing about T. Rex isn't a good reason to hurt someone's feelings and exclude them. Sadly this idea of including everyone doesn't overcome the negative comparison concepts. Unfortunately half this book is pretty good; and the other half is awful. I would be concerned about what a child might glean from All About Allosaurus; but even more importantly, I'd be concerned about what kind of questions they might ask about how they compare to a sibling or friend!
I just can't recommend this one as it delivers an awful base idea that I think we (as the human race) need to get away from. It's not about how we compare; but about who we are all on our own.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

The sweetest book I read this year. The illustrations on the book cover really interested me and it did not displease. The story about the difference and uniqueness of each dinosaur was brilliantly told, and the illustrations were lovely. All in all, a fantastic story about friendship, uniqueness and love.

Cute and fun! Good for dino loving kids. They felt bad for Allosaurus but in the end they got the message.

Most kids love a dinosaur book, especially when it is essential to the plot that a character is a dinosaur. This book takes on a topic standard to picture books - feeling inferior and wanting to prove your value. The dinosaurs make it unique. The facts that Allosaurus writes about the other dinosaurs are a combination of science and personality of the individuals. All together, this is a sweet and funny story, conveying a positive message without becoming preachy or condescending. The illustrations are complex and engaging with a great sense of action and emotion. A small child will enjoy the characters on an individual level. Older kids could use this as an introduction to a project comparing dinosaur species or appreciating one another.

Gormley's All about Allosaurus is an adorable little read teaching kids about selflessness and getting along. Allosaurus is upset because T. Rex gets all the attention, so he decides to write a book all about Allosaurus. As he's writing, several dinos find him and when they learn he's writing a book, they all ask to be in it. One by one, Allo agrees, only to realise once he's finished, that there's nothing about Allosaurus in it at all! What's a poor Allosaur to do?

My cubs and I loved this story. And I agree, Allo! There should be more about these gracile predators in general! T. Rex is everywhere. (I was thrilled when the second Jurassic World movie had allosaurs. They are one of my faves. Then again, I tend to go against what's *popular*) Dude, that pterosaur is a Quetzalcoatlus. Just saying. Also, Allosaurus isn't *that* much smaller than T. Rex.

***Many thanks to the Netgalley & Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Oh. Allosaurus, the T-Rex is overshadowing you!

My little one absolutely loved all the bright pictures, and as an avid follower of all things dinosaur, he explained to me exactly what was happening.

His honest opinion is five glowing thumbs up, and who can argue with the opinion of a four year old?

However, I did perceive this to be more of an educational incite into Allosaurus, but did appreciate the storyline.

*Many thanks to netgalley for providing me this lovely children’s book in exchange for an honest review.

This Allosaurus is feeling left out. He is living in the shadow of the T. Rex and he is fed up. Unfortunately, he is also a great friend. As he starts to make a book all about Allosaurus, his friends start to show up. As they show up they become part of the story as well. Allosaurus has an angry tone throughout the book which will win over fans of No, David. Lovers of all-things-dinosaurs will love this generous but also stubborn Allosaurus.

Allosaurus is jealous of all of the attention T. Rex always gets, so he decides to write a book all of his own...
My child enjoyed this book! He enjoyed pointing out the brightly drawn dinosaurs and naming them. He loved when I would continue reading and he was right. Dinosaur facts are also fluidly included within the story that Allosaurus is writing about himself. For me, the language got a bit clunky in the last few pages.
I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Greg and Dean have created a really strong character in Allosaurus and the conversations with the other dinosaurs are very comical. I loved how the spreads featured the Allosaurus’ book with facts about each dinosaur.

This is a refreshing take on traditional dinosaur picture books, with a very strong and humorous voice. Alongside the positive message of inclusion and friendship, there is also a subtle educational element to this book, with Allosaurus telling us facts about each type of dinosaur. I also really liked the “Next Steps” page at the end of this book which gives parents and teachers ideas for activities children can do to reflect on this story.

I am very grateful to the publisher for providing me with an advanced digital copy via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Allosaurus has had it. The rockstar in his world is not himself but T-Rex. Everyone fawns and drools over her but now Allosaurus is taking thing into his own hands and he is going to write a book... all about HIMSELF! Finally he will get the notoriety and recognition he deserves! Why should T. rex get all the dinosaur praise and glory?

When his other dinosaur friends discover what Allosaurus is up to they all clammer to be included in his book. Allosaurus hesitantly concedes to their demands and incorporates each one in his book with a little aside blurb citing their characteristics. He then observes that there is no room for him! Oh no!

T-Rex gets wind of his project and she is not amused. Why is she excluded from his book? She should be written into it too.

"ROAAAR!

Erm, T. rex how are you?
"Cross! You've been mean about me."
Oh?
"Yes, a T. rex has feelings too, you know."

Poor Allorsaurus now must find a way to appease T.rex's wrath. Can he come up with a way to calm her down and include her too? What do you think that he should do?

The illustrations are wonderful: colourful, vibrant and expressive. They add a lovely richness and depth to the text. A fun story which introduces children to different dinosaurs, with a light message on inclusion and friendship. I highly recommend this book to you.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I liked this story. Cute illustrations and a good message. I was hoping for more “about” allosaurus as an information book for kids. Probably my bad for misunderstanding what it was about. Overall it was cute and enjoyable.

earc from netgalley.

this book was kind of disappointing, based on what happened in the story. it just seemed all over the place, and it was really confusing for me to find the point of the story. maybe little kids will understand it, though.

Love the colorful artwork and the inclusion of information about dinosaurs but in a fun way. Found this to be really engaging and I know kids will flock to this book.

This is a book within a book, a children’s book inception if you will. Allosaurus wants to write a book all about him but runs into some bumps along the way. This is a nice book about acceptance and friendship.

My daughter LOVES dinosaurs and this book was a massive hit with her!
The images are lovely and she loved them.
I loved the story and the facts thrown in along the way too - very good
Great concept and story, well executed - 5 stars from me!!

A cute and fun book about dinosaurs. I like the take that it’s from a dinosaur’s perspective, especially one that isn’t a T-Rex. The book is about the Allosaurus who feels like the T-Rex always gets the spotlight (he’s not wrong). The Allosaurus learns a lesson about friendship and putting others first. The boo is very quirky and has some interesting dinosaur facts, given in an organic way. A great book for children who like dinosaurs!

This was cute. My kids liked hearing about all the dinosaurs, but it would have been nice to include some more obscure ones,

This was surprisingly bad. I thought the premise sounded really cute, and the cover sucked me in. While the premise might've been okay if executed differently, and the illustrations are fun, the rest of the book is a bit of a mess.

The main issue I had was with the writing. It's all over the place, and it's terribly distracting. The story is told by Allosaurus, and he's writing a book. So he's narrating in the first person, and that includes his dialogue (which isn't set off by quotation marks). The other dinosaurs' speech is set off by quotation marks. Then we've got a slightly different font for the stuff that's actually going into Allosaurus's book. Confused yet?

I'm assuming from the parents' note at the back that the other dinosaurs are supposed to be selfish because they want to be in Allosaurus's book. But if Allosaurus is tired of hearing all about T. rex, it stands to reason that maybe the other dinosaurs feel the same way. So why is it selfish for them to want to be in a book and not for Allosaurus? The self-deprecating compliment-fishing going on at the end is kind of off-putting, too. And I really don't like the way Allosaurus finally wrote about himself in the book. Why? Because it doesn't talk about him in his own right, but in comparison with T. rex. Teaching children that their traits are only valid in comparison to someone else's seems questionable at best.

The pictures are cute, but the writing made me want to pull my hair out:

"Can I be in it, Allosaurus?"
No, Triceratops. It's all about ME.
"But I'm your top best friend."
Oh, alright then.
"Yay!"
Triceratops is terrifically strong.
She has a fabulous collar, three horns on her head and is very good at eating her vegetables.
Now, where to begin about me, hmm...

Maybe dinosaurs aren't supposed to be good at grammar and paragraph structure. This one wasn't, in any case.