Note to Readers: When Dinosaurs Came With Everything has been nominated for the NYSRA Charlotte Award for 2010 as well as receiving additional honors including ABC Children’s Bookseller’s Choices, ALA Notable Children’s Books, and Bank Street Best Books of the Year. Mr. Frink’s kindergarten class sent questions to Elise Broach, author of When Dinosaurs Came With Everything, and here is her response.
Why did the boy get dinosaurs instead of dogs?
Wouldn’t you rather get a dinosaur than a dog? :) I thought it would be more fun if the freebies given out by the various stores were something really, really special that the boy couldn’t get any other way, at any other time.
Why didn’t the dinosaurs eat all the toys up?
Dinosaurs don’t eat toys! They eat grass and leaves and other dinosaurs. And in the book, they eat doughnuts, too.
How did you know what colors to use to make the pictures?
I don’t make the pictures for my books. The illustrators do that. I love to draw, but the illustrators for my books are much, much better at it than I am. They choose colors that they think will look good in the picture and match the story.
Why are the dinosaurs different colors?
David Small, the illustrator, chose to paint them that way, probably so readers could quickly tell them apart.
Why did you pick dinosaurs and not dragons?
I already wrote a picture book about a dragon. It’s called Hiding Hoover.
I liked the idea of doing a book about dinosaurs because readers can learn the names of real dinosaurs while they’re enjoying the story.
Where did the idea come from to give out dinosaurs instead of toys or balloons?
I was thinking of all the little toys, pencils, and stickers my three children always got from local stores and restaurants, and how often they got lost or broken, and then I started thinking how great it would be if the freebie was something really amazing and long-lasting… like a dinosaur!
Will they really keep the dinosaurs?
What do you think? What can you tell from the very last scene in the book? When the mother orders 10 more boxes of doughnuts, what will she be bringing back from the bakery?
What is the boy’s name?
That is a very good question! Because the book is told in the first person, in the “I” voice, his name isn’t mentioned in the story. What do you think would be a good name for him?
Liz Yanoff: Thank you. And one final question, what projects are you working on now?
Let’s see… I have two picture books coming out: a board book called Seashore Baby and a picture book about a little boy’s adventures in the jungle with his uncle called Gumption, illustrated by Richard Egielski. I just finished an early reader (for grades 1-2) based on Masterpiece, my chapter book mystery that came out in the fall. And I’m working on a young chapter book mystery series right now.
Elise Broach
June 30, 2009
