Shake, shake, shudder . . . near the sludgy old swamp. The dinosaurs are coming. Get ready to romp. A neon-bright Brontosaurus, a dancing Deinosuchus, and other raucous dinos gather at the swamp for a wild, earth-pounding party in this exuberant picture book. Mitton's gleeful rhymes introduce dinosaur species as they rumble and boogie across the spreads in irresistible, color-saturated cartoonlike artwork that shows the humor and farce of the giant beasts shaking their scales and tails. The book ends with a nighttime scene of sleeping dinosaurs that's perfect for bedtime reading: Now the only noise in the deep of the night is dinosaur-snoring 'til the next day's light. It's sure to be a big hit at story hours, too; expect young listeners to jump up and add their own wriggles and shakes to the dinosaur party.

Amiable dinosaurs dance and stomp in a "dinosaur romp" while two worried-looking rodents watch. It's not good science (the old name Brontosaurus, rather than Apatosaurus, is used), but it's definitely good fun. The cheerful tone, swooping, swirling text, and brightly colored art showing exuberantly dancing dinosaurs make this a good choice for story hours.

As long as there are kids, dinosaur books have less chance of extinction than the actual dinosaurs did. And thus, for the benefit of curious and expressive tykes, Mitton and Parker-Rees ( Down by the Cool of the Pool , 2002, etc.) serves up yet another, albeit welcome, excursion in paleo-eurhythmics. Should this be read before or after naptime? Let's explicate. It is to be experienced, to be stomped out in character, to be recited aloud as the language reflects reptilian excitement in sound and onomatopoeia. And Parker-Rees's illustrations resound and bounce on a glowing color palette that has consigned earth tones to long-forgotten times. There is noise, dancing, and a sense of largeness that can only lead from the titular rumpus to a . . . nap. Despite fitting into a familiar genre, Mitton has somehow—perhaps through the rhyme, perhaps through sheer ebullience of language—tapped into a satisfying freshness that says stomping out a Dinosaurumpus is for anytime. (Picture book. 4-7)

PreS-Gr 2-In a kinetic and goofy rhyming story, various denizens of the dinosaur world gather to join in a noisy, wild dance. This is another successful read-stamp-shout-giggle-sing-aloud from the author-illustrator duo who created Down by the Cool of the Pool (Orchard, 2002). This title shares with its predecessor an ever-increasing frenzy until the final few pages, when the "rompers drift together/and tumble in a heap-/`til finally the dinosaurs/are all fast asleep." From the swoop and "Eeeeeek!" of the pteranodon and the tail-thumping "Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!" of the brontosaurus (kids will no doubt offer its proper name) to the high-kicking "Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!" of the T. rex, each animal presents a fine opportunity for vocal and physical silliness that will be welcome wherever blood-stirring activity is needed. The colorful, eye-popping illustrations are sure to entice, and the recurring appearance of two small furry mammalians, while inaccurate from a natural history standpoint, provide a wry counterpoint to the action. A caveat for read-alouds: many of these names-deinosuchus, deinonychuses, and even styracosaurus-will not trip off the tongue without a fair amount of practice.-Dona Ratterree, New York City Public Schools Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.