I liked this story because the essential concept is about being assertive and not giving in to bullying, which is an important lesson for children (and adults) of all ages. This book would be great for use in classrooms that have “tribal” time where they discuss assertiveness and anti-bullying techniques. The text is humorous and there is some word art… words are larger and in bold when the big bully dinosaur is shouting, for example. The pictures are vivid and lively, and re-reading the book shows that the big plant-eating dinosaur is in the pictures right from the beginning (just parts of his body that you may not notice until you see the whole picture in the end). I think both the storyline and the art are the greatest strength and appeal for this book. Younger children will love to reread the book knowing the “secret” that parts of the big dinosaur are in all the pictures right from the beginning. Older children may notice this “secret” earlier and will love to guess who is the “really, really, really big” friend. I think kids of all ages and even adults will love to guess what is going to happen based on the foreshadowing. This book would be great for use in classrooms that have “tribal” time where they discuss assertiveness and anti-bullying techniques.

Jackson is a little dinosaur who is quietly sitting and pulling jelly beans from a jar. He is counting them one-by-one and placing them in two piles so that he can share evenly with his friend. He is approached by a dinosaur who happens to be than he and wants to take his jelly beans. Jackson explains his situation, which is he has a really, really really big dinosaur friend. But, that doesn't sway the bigger dinosaur as he goes on to explain and prove how he is the biggest and strongest dinosaur around. The bigger dinosaur teases Jackson about his so called friend being imaginary and that he is no match for him. When the sleeping giant awakens he certainly proves to the bigger dinosaur otherwise.

This witty tale created by Richard Byrne will teach kids how to respond to bullies and sharing. This a great book for boys who love dinosaurs. This bigger than life story escalates it's humor page by page. Hilarious illustrations and simple sentences will get any child engaged and rooting for Jackson. ( )