It’s Dot’s first day at her new school, and she wants to make friends…or maybe she’ll wait until tomorrow.
The little girl likes to take things slow—something her pet tortoise, Monty, understands. Then Dot learns that a classmate named Jude has a tortoise, too! She’s about to chime in when another girl sneers that tortoises are boring. Instead, Dot announces that she has a pet…tortosaurus! Luckily, Dot’s a crafts whiz. At show and tell, Monty arrives bedecked in dinosaurlike scales; her classmates are wowed. Monty’s fame spreads, to his chagrin: This fast life’s a drag. He doesn’t want to be someone he’s not, but he doesn’t want to disappoint Dot. Meanwhile, Dot’s frustrated that her new friends only want to take “shell-fies” with Monty. When Monty’s awarded a “certificate of reptilian excellence” at a school assembly, he finds the hot stage lights uncomfortable and sheds his costume. An angry Dot runs home with him but apologizes when she realizes she forced Monty to be someone he wasn’t. Dot decides to be true to herself and emerge from her shell, too, bonding with Jude. This sweet U.K. import conveys important messages to children who wonder about making friends and are uncertain about their identities. The cheery color illustrations enliven the tale; readers will appreciate Monty’s fanciful dinosaur get-up. Bespectacled Dot is pale-skinned, Jude is brown-skinned, and their classmates and background figures are diverse.
The moral of this wise story: It’s always best to be true to one’s self.–Kirkus Reviews
Katie Cottle’s The Tortosaurus (9781664300682, $18.99) tells of a regular tortoise whose new best friend wants him to be something he is not. Monty is used to and comfortable with hiding, but Dot sees his talents, and wants the world to know him. How can such very different individuals be friends? Cottle fills her story with thought-provoking insights read-aloud adults can pursue with kids (“It’s hard to relax when you’re trying to be someone you’re not…”). —Midwest Book Review, Children’s Bookwatch
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