Adventure time

DINOSAURS AFTER DARK. Written by Jonathan Emmett and illustrated by Curtis Jobling. (Collins, 9.99)

I usually find rhyming picture books annoying, but this mixture of rhymes in the middle of lines and at the end make the text interesting and clever. It also reads beautifully out loud, and there's lots of excitement and anticipation. The style and colouring of the illustrations have a 1950s feel, and there are lots of things to look out for second and third time round. Notice how the lime green dinosaur's body matches the colour and texture of the boy's dressing-gown, so when he follows the dinosaur down the blue-tinged dark deserted buildings, the connection between them is highlighted. There are some scary moments, like when the dinosaurs declare they are going to eat the boy because he may tell on them (he promises not to). But the boy gets really scared when they begin a hide-and-seek game, and he runs and runs, to be eventually carried safely back to his bed wrapped in the arms of the green dinosaur, his dressing-gown and its coat melded together.