Like many six-year-olds, Mian’s springy-haired, rosy-cheeked, brown-skinned protagonist has dinosaurs on the brain—almost in a literal sense. He carefully articulates his various moods and behaviors by describing himself in terms of different (made-up) dinosaurs. “Sometimes I am Whyceratops,” he explains. “This happens when I have a lot of questions, which is quite often.” Readers may recognize some of their own qualities in the dinosaurs the boy describes, which included Mudiraptor, Loudatrops, and Nevertiredophus. However, the boy’s similarly structured explanations tend to be both repetitive and a bit long-winded: “Sometimes I am a Nofocusodocus. This happens because I cannot really help it if I have to look out of the window when my dad is explaining the homework to me, or if I have to look for my favourite toy while putting my shoes on.” More successful are Bolton’s illustrations, which display a wide range of homemade-looking dinosaur costumes featuring headbands with horns, strapped-on spines, and overalls bedecked with tails and clawed feet. While Mian’s young hero is perhaps overly precocious, his dino-themed musings might still provide a helpful lead-in to conversations about emotions. Ages 4–8. (BookLife)