Dinosaurs to take center stage at Rockefeller Arts Center

When the DinoRockers come to town, fun is sure to follow – and the “when” is Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in Marvel Theatre at the State University of New York at Fredonia.

“A Dinosaur Book of World Records,” presented by DinoRock Productions, Inc., will launch the 2007-08 Kaleidoscope Family Series at Rockefeller Arts Center. The series is sponsored by Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate. The event sponsor is Bahgat and Laurito-Bahgat, Certified Public Accountants. It is part of the Lake Shore Savings Season.

This will be the third time DinoRock Productions, a national leader in children’s entertainment for more than 20 years, has presented a show at Rockefeller Arts Center. The last performance, “Dinosaur Rock!” in February 2006, was sold out.

“A Dinosaur Book of World Records” takes place in a public library where reference librarian Rita Book is getting the library ready for a puppet show. The proceeds from the puppet show will be added to the “Save the Library” fund. With the budget for city services having been cut, the library is faced with the threat of closing.

Enter Justin Paperback, famous science writer for young readers, who is researching a new book about record-holding dinosaurs. He’s come to the library because he knows it has a large collection of dinosaur books and access to the Internet. He plans to donate all the proceeds of his new book to the “Save the Library” fund.

Together with Mr. Paperback’s Swedish book illustrator, Etcha Sketch, Rita and Justin collect crazy record-holding characters of the Mesozoic Era, who walk right out of the books to meet the researchers.

Along the way, Rita, Justin and Etcha demonstrate the message of the show: a public library can be a magical place where learning is fun and books come to life.

“A Dinosaur Book of World Records” debuted almost 10 years ago and it has been delighting audiences ever since. DinoRock Productions has performed for millions of children nationwide and has sold more than 100,000 award-winning audio recordings around the world.

A generation has grown up singing with Danny Diplodocus and “Hack,” the hadrosaur from Hackensack. Hack, Danny and all their life-sized, colorful prehistoric friends are the creations of Emmy Award-winning puppet designer Ingrid Crepeau and Parents' Choice Magazine and American Library Association Award winner Michele Valeri.

These lovable characters inhabit the magical world of DinoRock Productions — a performance group for family audiences that introduces children to the world of science through the one subject that seems to excite everyone's imagination ... dinosaurs.

Tickets are available at the SUNY Fredonia Ticket Office in the Williams Center or by phone at 716-673-3501 (toll free at 1-866-441-4928).