If I Had a Dinosaur

Product Information

I thought this was a fun enjoyable book to read about pets whilst also including a variety of representative characters throughout to make every child feel included. It would give her a ride to school, but she needs to make sure she has lots of food for it to eat, a swimming pool-sized a water bowl and a giant cat flap! This book has a lot of opportunities for dialogic reading as the first page opens up with a few pictures in place of words to further engage the kids in the story, and it provides opportunity to engage in the imagination as you can wonder what it'd be like to have a dino for a pet.

He giggles his way through the pages and always wants to know which dinosaur on the last page was the one responsible for the big surprise (no spoilers) earlier in the story.Many of the words are substituted for images, which makes for a very engaging reading experience with a little one. Taking inspiration from one of David Attenborough's BBC documentaries, Dawnay uses rhyme, humour and the excitement of having a very strange pet to create this picturebook.

This book would obviously be fantastic in a classroom as a spring board for lessons on pets/dinosaurs but also has some good linkage opportunities with self care, daily routines, nursery rhymes, creative problem solving and more - I think it would be a brilliant resource for any educator to have on their shelf! In online images, the color of the Asian children seems less offensively yellow than it does in the printed book in front of me. I suppose it was a good opportunity to have a discussion about stereotypes and racism with my 3-year old after he asked my why certain kids’ skin was green, but really, come on. It allows for opportunities for the children to ask questions and consider what they would do in the same situation. A frequently requested nighttime read by my 3 year old, who’s going through a bit of a dinosaur phase at the moment.

But as they walk around the museum, all Dave wants to know is wherther these dinosaurs are really dead. The girl, still in pajamas, bounces on her bed—where a toy green dinosaur sits—and finally decides, she wants “a pet much bigger, more the size of, well, A HOUSE!

The bright, joyful pictures made me happy except for in the instances they made me question the illustrator's ability to draw. And from the first appearance of the sweet-faced, bright-green dino of the books, she was delighted. At the end of a day spent busily imagining, the girl trudges up to bed with her little plastic dinosaur. Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the author in exchange for an honest review.This is one that I will NOT do again, and it is a good reminder for me to pay closer attention to the illustrations before selecting storytime books. As regular readers know, JJ is a fan of dinosaurs – you may have even noticed her loyal reading buddy, Mr. Looking again at this book, I'm reminded of the Cousin Chin-Kee character from American Born Chinese.