The Children’s Book Review | March 21, 2017
Laurie Berkner’s Selfie with We Are the Dinosaurs
I took this selfie in a van on my way to play a show outside of Pittsburgh PA, where I will be singing “We Are The Dinosaurs,” the song that is the text for my new picture book, illustrated by Ben Clanton. I’ve been singing this song for more than 20 years and still perform it at virtually every concert I play. I was so excited when Simon & Schuster said they wanted to make it into a book!!
The story is mostly told through the awesome pictures of the dinosaurs and their dialogue. There are five kid dinos (Ernesto, Olive, Flloyd, Sasha and Dax) who all go on an adventure together, and of course, they also do a lot of marching.
Laurie Berkner’s Shelfie
I picked this bookshelf out of many in my apartment because it’s a mix of books that highlight what I’ve been really into lately – a combination of young adult novels that I’ve been reading alongside my daughter Lucy, and my beloved cookbooks. I just finished reading The Lunar Chronicles by Melissa Meyer (my choice), The Alanna series by Tamora Pierce (Lucy’s suggestion) and The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini (we started the first book together, and then I went on to finish them myself). I’m a fantasy and science fiction lover, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.
Lucy and I have also been reading classic books out loud together, like the Anne of Green Gables series and Louisa May Alcott’s books (all of which I somehow missed reading when I was young), and I am so in love with these characters! (In particular I want to go to Nova Scotia and pretend to be Anne). I also absolutely love magical realism and was an Art History minor in college, and The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman combined both of those interests in a beautiful way. The book was amazing and made me want to go back and learn more about art from that time period. Most of the rest of the bookshelf contains the key to one of my true pleasures in life, reading cookbooks. I love cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, and I have a somewhat eclectic diet, so I find reading chefs’ ideas about food and the history behind a recipe or the discovery that occurred when the recipe was created, completely fascinating. Right now I’m reading Raw by an Icelandic raw-ish, vegan-ish, paleo-ish chef named Solla Eriksdottir that has incredible pictures and stories of Iceland, and Deep Run Roots by Vivian Howard, who has an award-winning PBS reality show about her fantastic, upscale, farm-to-table restaurant in rural Eastern North Carolina. The restaurant is called Chef and the Farmer and the show is A Chef’s Life. Last year, after a gig in Raleigh, I actually had a chance to meet Vivian (so inspiring!) and go to the restaurant with the band and Lucy. The food was some of the best I’d ever eaten.
Written by Laurie Berkner
Illustrated by Ben Clanton
Publisher’s Synopsis: Laurie Berkner, “the queen of children’s music,” (People) pairs the lyrics of her beloved hit with Ben Clanton’s whimsical illustrations in this winning, adorable picture book—a must-have for fans of Laurie, dinosaurs, and all things cute.
We are the dinosaurs
Marching, marching
We are the dinosaurs
Laurie Berkner’s chart-topping, beloved hit “We Are the Dinosaurs” is now a picture book! Featuring an adorable cast of characters and vibrant, playful art by Ben Clanton, We Are the Dinosaurs transports readers back in time to when the dinosaurs roamed the earth.
WHADDAYA THINK OF THAT?
Ages 4-8 | Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 2017 | ISBN-13: 978-1481464635
Available Here:
About Laurie Berkner
Recognized as “the queen of children’s music” (People magazine), Laurie Berkner is a singer, songwriter, lyricist, author, and founder of Two Tomatoes Records, LLC. She has released eleven best-selling, award-winning albums over the course of the past two decades, was the first recording artist ever to perform in music videos on Nick Jr., appeared regularly on the network’s Jack’s Big Music Show, and helped develop the short-form animated musical preschool series Sing It, Laurie! on Sprout TV. Laurie has written the music and lyrics for two Off-Broadway children’s musicals, Wanda’s Monster and The Amazing Adventures of Harvey and the Princess, produced by New York City Children’s Theater. She is currently working on a third NYCCT musical, Interstellar Cinderella, set to open in November 2017. Laurie tours nationwide, performing both solo and with The Laurie Berkner Band. What sets Laurie apart? Her music speaks to kids without talking down to them, charming youngsters without boring grownups. Laurie finds inspiration in her audience. “I want to create songs that matter for children,” she says. “I was singing once and saw a four-year-old girl shut her eyes and start swaying to the music. I thought, ‘That’s the reason I got into music.’ It keeps me wanting to do more.”
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Discover more books like “We Are the Dinosaurs,” by Laurie Berkner, by checking out our reviews and articles tagged with Dinosaurs and Picture Book; and be sure to follow along with our Selfie and a Shelfie series.