Dinosaurs And All That Rubbish by Michael Foreman

Dinosaurs And All That Rubbish Reviews

• 
  Jan-Maat

  This is a book that fearlessly exposes the hitherto unexposed connections between rubbish, the endless tons of domestic and commercial waste that we produce, and dinosaurs.
  
  Essentially it is like that classic documentary
  One Million Years BC, but with better dinosaurs, more rubbish and without Raquel Welsh, or indeed anybody else in furry underwear.
  
  Or perhaps it is a children's picture book in which dinosaurs rise up from beneath the earth to sweep up and dispose of all the rubbish that humanity has produced and the ruins of our industrial society. Then, since dinosaurs are apparently keen gardeners, they turn our plant into a lush paradise, that is somewhat implausibly suitable for both people and dinosaurs to enjoy in harmony, with neither people being eaten nor Sauropod eggs for breakfast in my memory there was an extensive series of pictures showing dinosaurs sweeping rubbish into volcanoes, ripping out motorways like so much old carpet, however upon re-inspection it proved that my imagination had substantially embellished the original in my memory.
  
  Large, colourful illustrations, suitable for younger children.
• 
  Chantal

  A little story about dinosaurs cleaning up the earth after mankind ruined it. The art in this book was lovely, however I didn't like the story and I didn't really get it at the end.
  
  This book is in the
  1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up challenge I am doing.
• 
  Mimi

  Excellent enviromental tale.
• 
  Kornelis Sietsma

  "Don't cut down all the trees - where will the birds live?" - my 3 year old.
• 
  John Morgan

  This was one of my favorite books as a child. A man grows envious of the birds and decides to build a rocket to go to the stars. He does this and leaves the planet, but the effort requires so much industry that the Earth is ruined in the process. Awakened by the tremors of all this activity, the dinosaurs, who have been hibernating deep underground, return, and, horrified by the waste they find on the surface, they set about cleaning up all the waste and return the planet to its pristine natural glory. The man, disappointed by what he finds in space, returns to Earth, thinking it a paradise but not realizing until he arrives that it is the same planet that he had left. The dinosaurs only agree to let him back if he agrees to be a better caretaker of nature. A great story for children with a strong ecological and traditionalist message.
• 
  Beth

  Follows the story of a wealthy, greedy man who pollutes and destroys Earths natural resources in his desire to travel to a distant star. The man journeys into space in his rocket, leaving a barren, rubbish filled Earth behind. While he is gone, the dinosaurs living beneath Earths surface awake, shocked by the desolate landscape they see, they work together to tidy up. When the man returns, he cannot believe his eyes, Earths luscious landscape is unrecognisable, he believes he has found paradise. The dinosaurs only allow the man to come back to Earth once he understands that Earth is to be shared, enjoyed and cared for by everyone.
  
  Wonderful story with a subtle conservation message, teaching children the importance of caring for the environment. The pictures throughout the book are bright, fun and very amusing :)
• 
  Amy Aldridge

  The moral of this story in global citizenship, climate change, and the impact of humanity is fantastic. What stopped it being a 5 star review was the story just didn’t seem to flow very nicely, it didn’t draw me in right from the start with interesting characters that a child could relate to, or with stunning illustrations. I think I liked this book mostly because I’m an adult who understands how important this books topic is. I think reading this book aloud with expression and passion, and ensuring to discuss lots of things with the children throughout would be vital. I don’t think this is a book a child could pick up and read by themselves and lose themselves in the story as effectively as other books.
  Despite this, I can’t take away from the fact the message this story is conveying is incredibly important for all children to understand.
• 
  Jenna Mills

  A positive message but totally ludicrous
• 
  Julie Bramhall

  An interesting take on global warming. My class enjoyed it immensely.
• 
  Anna Scott

  A story that highlights the self-centredness and blindness of man in the pursuit of his selfish desires; pollution and rubbish covers the earth while he endevours to fullfill his dreams by buidling a rocket that will take him to a distant star.
  
  Upon arriving, it is not the lush (grass is greener scenario) planet that he fantisised about; rather, it is barren and life less. He sees another distant star; his planet that he doesn't recognise as his own. The irony of his blindness is apparent as he sets off and sets to discover IT, still with his take all, share nothing attitude.
  
  Meanwhile (back at the ranch) back on his planet, the dinosaur eggs that were buried and being warmed by the pollution had hatched. The dino's were appauled at the state of the planet and set about cleaning the place up; restoring it, to the lush beatuy that existed before the man began to build his rocket and dream of 'better' places.
  
  The man returns to his planet and doesn't recognise it as his own; though, he recognises it's beauty and wants to claim it. The dino's wont have a bar of it and instead encourage him to understand that it belongs to everyone and its is to be protected, cared for and shared by all.
  
  The story is famtastic but the illustrations are what make the book so captivating and lush!
  
  One of my all time faves!! : )
• 
  Kathleen Dixon

  I've owned this book for nearly 30 years, but I don't like it that much really. It's one of those "we're destroying our world" books - and yes, I do think we still need them, and I hope people are still writing new ones for each new batch of children that come along, but this one just feels a little preachy.
  
  So why have I kept it? 1) It's about dinosaurs, and I have a nice collection of dinosaur books for the children (grandchildren now, of course). 2) It's colourful and has simple pictures that children like. 3) It has a wonderful picture on the front of huge dinosaurs crushing cars.
  
  I don't remember if my son or daughter were fond of this book, but James (aged 4 and 10 and a half months) enjoyed it very much as a bedtime book last night (sleepover at Granny's - his turn). So this book definitely stays on the shelves.
• 
  Eleanor McMullon

  This book was originally a random choice of mine within a library. I wanted to challenge my taste of a boring cover and give the inside contents a go. Whilst the story line did seem a little odd and definitely not what I was expecting, it did have an underlying perspective of the world which highlighted how we treat it and many other underlying deeper messages that could easily be drawn upon within a classroom environment.
• 
  Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance

  A 1001 CBYMRBYGU.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mankind has ruined the earth and has now abandoned the planet. After man is gone, the dinosaurs return, but are dismayed to discover the rubbish covering the earth. The dinosaurs start to clean up. Then man comes back to earth and finds it a beautiful place.
  
  
  
  I'd never have expected to find this preachy little book among the 1001 CBYMRBYGUs.
  
  
• 
  Guilherme Semionato

  Jan. '19: A-fable-for-our-time-as-relevant-today-as-it-was-when-it-was-first-published kinda preachy. Lovely and curious in the first few pages; stilted narrative, awful dialogue afterwards.
  
  *
  
  Dec. '20: I read it again and I liked it this time. I was a bit mean to this very modest, very endearing book.
• 
  Annie Cole

  A gentle, thought- provoking exploration of waste, responsibility and what might have been. Simple yet evocative illustrations that captured the children's imagination. Perfect for our "Mother Earth" topic.
• 
  S.P.

  My favourite book when I was 7. So happy to have found it again after all these years! Deals with such modern concepts as environmentalism and the impact of Man's ambition on the world.