Animals: 4 Kids’ Books About Dinosaurs

All kids love dinosaurs, right? These books take dinosaur fun a little further, using our pre-historic friends to introduce new vocabulary, new schools, and fun new dances. Thanks to the Harvard Co-op Bookstore Kids’ staff for the picks!

Thesaurus Rex, Laya Steinberg and Debbie Harter

From School Library Journal:
Filled with descriptive language, the text offers numerous synonyms for each activity…The bouncy, rhyming language is enhanced by bright watercolor-and-crayon illustrations that create a wonderful sense of movement. One picture shows the happy dinosaur jumping into a swamp; brown mud splashes cross over to the opposite page where he is shown again, no longer smiling and buried in the slime. An entertaining and painless way for children to broaden their vocabulary while enjoying a fun story.

• ages 4 -8
• great way to introduce new vocabulary
• fun, bouncy language encourages a love of words
• bright colors are good for younger kids

Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp, Carol Diggory Shields and Scott Nash

From Kirkus Reviews:

Dinosaurs get down and boogie at a Saturday all-night bash: Shields’s rhymes and Nash’s drawings create an extravaganza of prehistoric fun. Saturday evening the dinosaurs primp and preen, preparing for the big dance. Then they go out to stomp their feet, crank their guitars, and dance so hard they create the first earthquake, upsetting volcanoes into a fireworks display. The party lasts until the Cenozoic dawns, when all the dinosaurs settle in for some sleep. Witty and imaginative, the poem has a rhythm that makes cumbersome multi-syllable dinosaur names roll off the tongue–good read-aloud material. The illustrations match the text’s exuberance with drawings of boisterously striped and polka-dotted dinosaurs, who play bongos, dance congas, and kick up their heels.

• ages 4 -8
• uses real dinosaur names, such as “diplodocus”
• many opportunities to introduce a dance component to story time, and encourage kids to get up and moving

Curious George’s Dinosaur Discovery, H.A. Rey, Catherine Hapka, and Anna Grossnickle Hines

Curious George goes on a dinosaur dig and gets into some mischief, ultimately helping scientists discover some dinosaur bones.

• ages 4-8, though younger children may enjoy paging through the pictures
• introduces the importance of history, and some basic archaeology
• the CD available with the story helps kids learn to read along
• other books include “Curious George at the Aquarium” and “Curious George in the Snow”

How Do Dinosaurs Go To School, Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

From School Library Journal:

A new cast of brightly colored dinosaurs appears in this charming back-to-school story. The text’s easy rhyme and rhythm will be familiar to those who have read other books in this series, and Teague’s charismatic and naughty dinosaurs will continue to delight readers with their antics and exuberance. The illustration accompanying “DOES A DINOSAUR YELL?” is sure to elicit smiles as an excited Herrerasaurus leaps out of his chair proudly holding up a newly lost tooth. His teacher looks annoyed, but his classmates all turn toward him with their own gap-toothed grins. The 10 dinosaurs that appear are identified on the endpapers where each is hard at work or play. Stygimoloch using one arm to prop up his raised hand as he blurts out is also likely to draw a smile from veteran teachers. A fun read-aloud for the first day of school.

• ages 3 and up
• dinosaur species and marking are recognizable
• great way to make the first day of school seem less intimidating
• other books in the series include “How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You?”, “How Do Dinosaurs Go To The Dentist?” and “How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?”