In this rhyming high-sea adventure we meet a crew of delightful dinosailors who are "hale and hearty—dinotough! / They talk of salty sailing stuff: / Blocks and winches, dinocleats, / Shackles, tacking, trimming sheets."

After readying their ship, and raising anchor using "dinoforce," they head out with the wind. They sing sea songs and "have a ball." That is, until they meet with a storm. They bump into walls—and each other. "They mash the mast and ram the rails." They also become seasick. (One double-paged spread shows the dinosailors being sick—thankfully from a distance.) This is enough to convince the bunch to return to blessedly firm land and their homes.

They don't, however, remain at home for long. "Once more they hear adventure's cry, / So dinotravelers say good-bye." This time they choose a more stable form of transportation—a train.

The gouache and watercolor illustrations, done in bold, bright colors, are a perfect match for the text. Fine uses various perspectives to great effect.

Classroom Uses: Dinosailors works well as a read-aloud and also for one-on-one sharing.

Reviewed by the teachers at Education Oasis.