School Library Journal Starred Review (Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

K-Gr 2 The gold stealin' and cattle kissin' Toad Brothers are terrorizing the town of Drywater Gulch again! So when seven-year-old Ryan rides into town on a tortoise and offers to help, the mayor immediately gives him the task of wrangling up the Toads. The new sheriff may not know anything about riding horses or lassoing crooks, but like most boys, he does know an awful lot about dinosaurs. As Ryan investigates the crime scenes, he blatantly blames dinosaurs for the crime in the town and sets out to nab the terrifying lizards. Although Sheriff Ryan is pretty ridiculous in his accusations, children will love the ending, since the little hero gets the last laugh. Shea's humor is spot-on in Sherriff Ryan's unwavering logic and assumptions, and his distinct characters will make this an instant hit at storytime. Smith's illustrations, with grainy color and vivid textures, match the deadpan silliness to a tee, and keen dinosaur hunters will love the few dinosaur mirages hidden in the background. Another stellar job by Shea and Smith.— Peter Blenski, Greenfield Public Library, WI

ALA Booklist (Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Drywater Gulch is in a big ol' heap of trouble. The Toad brothers are raisin' heck. Why, them fools would rightly "steal your gold, kiss your cattle, and insult your chili." Mayor McMuffin is plumb panicked until boy-aged Sheriff Ryan rides into town. On a tortoise. ("Give him a minute," writes Shea, tracking his progress across two spreads.) The sheriff has a suspicion: it ain't Toads doin' the stealin' and kissin' and insultin' 's dinosaurs! See, it's T. rex what done blasted open the jail, not dynamite, and velociraptors who gone ahead and hog-tied them victims, not no bandits. Well, the Toads don't cotton to that! Hoppin' angry that the "dineysaurs" are gettin' all the credit, they hotfoot their way into the jail. That's when the rootin'-tootin' varmints realize they been had. Dang it! Shea's enjoyably bizarre take on a good old fashioned hoodwinkin' finds a perfect executor in Smith, whose desert-hued illustrations have all the hard corners and sneering lines of a wanted poster. Aw shucks, now Sheriff Ryan is probably blushing.

Horn Book

The Toad brothers have run amok through Drywater Gulch. Enter Sheriff Ryan. In a clever bit of reverse psychology, young Ryan snubs the Toad brothers by blaming the town's problems on a band of dinosaur hooligans. Smith's over-the-top goofy townspeople are a perfect partner for Shea's stylistic shenanigans; alongside the silliness Smith shows some serious skills with line work and hue.