Have You Seen My Dinosaur? Read online

  Text copyright © 2010 by Jon Surgal

  Illustrations copyright © 2010 by Joe Mathieu

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books,

  a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

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  registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

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  All rights reserved.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Surgal, Jon.

  Have You Seen My Dinosaur? / Jon Surgal ; illustrated by Joe Mathieu. — 1st ed.

  p. cm. — (Beginner books)

  Summary: A five-year-old boy searches high and low for his missing dinosaur, and the people

  he asks for help do not believe such a creature actually exists.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-98261-3

  [1. Stories in rhyme. 2. Dinosaurs—Fiction. 3. Lost and found possessions—Fiction.]

  I. Mathieu, Joseph, ill. II. Title.

  PZ8.3.S966Hav 2010 [E]—dc22 2007043166

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.0

  This book is for Kitty Winn,

  with Kitty knows what and Kitty knows what for

  —J.S.

  With love to Kristen and Alex

  —J.M.

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Title Page

  First Page

  Have you seen my dinosaur?

  He’s large. He’s green. He likes to roar.

  He sometimes likes a little drink.

  So have you seen him in the sink?

  Or could he be outside the door?

  Please, have you seen my dinosaur?

  I have not seen your dinosaur.

  There’s no such creature anymore.

  I have not seen him in the sink.

  He would not fit in there, I think.

  I KNOW he’s not outside the door!

  I have not seen your dinosaur!

  I’ve got to find my dinosaur.

  He’s never once been lost before.

  He’s hard to miss. He’s very large.

  He’s larger than a river barge.

  He likes to take a nap at four.

  Please help me find my dinosaur.

  I cannot find your dinosaur.

  There’s no such thing, not anymore.

  A dinosaur cannot be found—

  From deepest deep to highest ground.

  From shore to ship or ship to shore,

  You will not find your dinosaur!

  I lost my dinosaur today.

  Do you suppose he ran away?

  Could he be hanging from a kite?

  Or hiding somewhere in plain sight?

  He likes to watch me comb my hair.

  This morning, though, he wasn’t there.

  I thought that he was in the shower.

  Oh, he can shower for an hour.

  He might be in some big desk drawer.

  Please, have you seen my dinosaur?

  You say you’ve lost a dinosaur?

  A strange thing to be looking for!

  A thing as tall and wide as that

  You won’t find underneath a hat!

  If I were you, I’d get a cat.

  Or dog.

  Or bird.

  Or small white rat.

  Have you seen my dinosaur?

  It’s teatime. It’s his turn to pour.

  Now let me see. What have we got?

  A lynx. Some minks. An ocelot.

  Plus two gnu. A kinkajou.

  Camels with one hump or two.

  A big black bear from Baden-Baden.

  A Scottish beastie from Culloden.

  A shaggy yak from far Bhutan.

  An upside-down orangutan.

  A fat wild boar from East Timor …

  But no, we have no dinosaur.

  There aren’t any, anymore.

  We do not have your dinosaur.

  I need to see Professor Pew.

  I’m Pew. What can I do for you?

  I’m looking for a dinosaur.

  What kind is it you’re looking for?

  His tail is longer than a mile.

  His neck is longer still. His smile

  Gets wider every time I see him.

  You need to try a big museum.

  Is this the place where, people say,

  A dinosaur is on display?

  Sure is. Now let me think. (It’s tough,

  Because we’ve got a LOT OF STUFF.)

  Look! Statues made by ancient Greeks!

  To name them all would take me weeks.

  But not a single statue here

  Is of a dinosaur, I fear.

  These paintings are all very rare.

  No photos, please! Stay back, take care!

  No dinosaurs in here, I’m told,

  Although our paintings are quite old.

  Of course, they’re dusted now and then

  By trusted, well-trained handymen.

  Here! Here is what you’re looking for!

  Here’s where we keep our dinosaur!

  It lived a long, long time ago,

  Two hundred million years or so!

  Two hundred million years ago?

  No! No! No! No! That can’t be so!

  This isn’t what I came to see!

  My dinosaur is five, like me!

  A year ago, we both were four!

  WHEREVER IS MY DINOSAUR?

  I’ve got to find my dinosaur

  Before he misses one meal more.

  But where a dinosaur might go

  Is something no one seems to know.

  My mother did not have a clue.

  The fisherman did not come through.

  It stumped the whole police force too.

  I got no further at the zoo,

  Or when I saw Professor Pew.

  The big museum had nothing new.

  So what, oh what, am I to do?

  I think who I should ask is … you!

  Have YOU seen my dinosaur?

  You have?

  He’s where?

  Say that once more!

  A dinosaur’s a kid’s best friend.

  But hide-and-seek is hard!

  The end.

 

 

  Jon Surgal, Have You Seen My Dinosaur?

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