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Lulu and the Brontosaurus    by Judith Viorst & Lane Smith Amazon.com order for
Lulu and the Brontosaurus
by Judith Viorst
Order:  USA  Can
Atheneum, 2011 (2011)
Hardcover, e-Book
* * *   Reviewed by Bob Walch

Young readers six years of age and older will love this chapter book about a very willful little girl who learns to become a little more thoughtful and considerate after an encounter with a dinosaur.

If Lulu doesn't get what she wants (and she wants almost everything!), she throws a tantrum and screeches so loudly that the light bulbs burst. Her parents always give in to her requests until she demands a very special birthday present – a brontosaurus!

Finally her parents say the dreaded word, 'NO!' No matter how badly she behaves, they won't give in, so Lulu decides to take matters into her own hands and find her own brontosaurus. Out she goes into a huge forest where she encounters a big snake, a hungry tiger, and a grumpy bear that all threaten her, but Lulu is more than a match for them.

What the little girl isn't ready for is the brontosaurus she actually meets. More than a match for Lulu, the dinosaur has plenty of attitude himself and he quickly turns the tables on the little firebrand.

When she tells the creature she wants him to be her pet, his reply is quite surprising. 'A pet is a very good thing,' he says, explaining that although it is a good idea, there's been a little misunderstanding. He wants to make the bossy little girl his pet!

'You're about to be the first person – ever - to be an animal's pet. Congratulations ...', he says.

Now this doesn't set too well with Lulu, but I'll let you read this humorous tale to see how she copes with the situation. If nothing else, by the end of the story she does add a new word to her vocabulary – the 'P' word! (Please!)

Judith Viorst has a lot of fun with this narrative. In fact, she had so much fun that she couldn't decide on a single ending. Thus, she supplies the reader with three endings and lets the youngster decide which one he or she likes the best. They are all good, but the third one gets my vote!

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