BOOK SIGNING: "Monster Who Ate the State" by Chris Browne

Visit Chris Browne at Zandbroz Variety! Browne, the cartoonist of Hägar the Horrible, is the author and illustrator of The Monster Who Ate the State.

"A sneakily educational children's picturebook. The story follows Soozy, a hungry dinosaur who wakes up from a long sleep in South Dakota's Black Hills, and boy is she ever hungry! Bemused by the change in her surroundings, she explores South Dakota as she searches for a new home, as well as tasty food to eat (motorcycles turn out to make a poor appetizer). Fortunately, the local children have milk and cookies to share! The final page offers footnotes about the numerous exciting South Dakota landmarks that Soozy visits in her travels, such as Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park (home to buffalo, prairie dogs, and more), Sioux Falls, and Soozy's eventual home at the Great Plains Zoo. The Monster Who Ate the State is delightfully fun to read aloud, and highly recommended."—Midwest Book Review

With a rumbling from the deep and a drawn-out ROAR—Soozy the dinosaur is awake and HUNGRY.

Bang! Bang! Tap! Tap! The scientists at an underground laboratory in South Dakota are busy with their experiments. A creature who has slumbered for many years under the earth wakes up.

Soozy opens her eyes and, with a big yawn, emerges from the Black Hills. She makes her way across the state searching for food and friends. The world she discovers is far different from the one she left behind. Munching on motorcycles, chasing bison, and seeing the sights, Soozy hunts for a new place to call home. Illustrations from cartoonist Chris Browne bring the prehistoric Soozy to life as he regales readers with the adventures of the traveling dinosaur and describes the unique places she visits in the Mount Rushmore State.

Fun for children and dinosaurs of all ages, The Monster Who Ate the State is suitable for a first- to fourth-grade reading level or for reading aloud to a younger audience.