When a monster attacks Beandom—the kingdom of tiny bean-shaped bears, the king turns to his wisest advisors for a plan. But that doesn’t go so smoothly— how could the plan of pacifying a monster by serving him pancakes not work?!—and King Limalot looks for a new idea.
After a few trial and error plans, and lots of casualties, the solution comes from L. Joe Bean, a little bear whose previous suggestions had been ignored.
With victory in the hands of the Lima Bears, they learn that sometimes wisdom isn’t always packaged in the biggest or oldest citizens. Everyone’s ideas are valid, and at least worthy of a listen. And sometimes, when you work together as a team, you get the best results.
The fairy tale elements, mixed with word play and a fresh new message, The Megasaurus is a story fit for any age. Younger children will be thoroughly entertained, and the older readers will have fun predicting which ideas will work (and which will result in a snack for the monster!). Woven into the story are lessons of problem-solving and compromise, strategy and teamwork.
The bonus points for discussion and reading guides found at the end of the book are great tools for turning a quick story into a learning experience—but the subject matter of monsters and heroes is so fun that kids won’t even realize that they’re learning!
Len DiSalvo is a teacher, illustrator, animator, and multi-media artist.