If you are in the United States, I hope you had a fun and safe Fourth of July last Thursday! I usually post on the first Thursday of the month, but I took off for the holiday. Today I’m back with books about dinosaurs!

TODDLER DINOSAUR

Dinosaur vs Bedtime by Bob Shea

This is the first book in a series by Bob Shea, who is a favorite in my family. (I’ve previously mentioned Crash, Splash, or Moo! in my post about Interactive Books.) The character Dinosaur was inspired by Bob’s son Ryan when he was a toddler, and reading the books with that in mind gives another level of cleverness for adults. Dinosaur takes on many challenges, such as bathtime and pajamas, and each time Dinosaur wins. The final task in each book is a bit harder for Dinosaur, like in Dinosaur vs. The Library when he has to not roar during Storytime.

I want to make a special shoutout for Dinosaur vs. The Potty, which I love. After a lunch that includes three juice boxes, “You would think he would have to go the potty… but he says he doesn’t!” I mean, anyone who is a parent or caregiver to young children can relate to that. It’s so funny. And then at the end when Dinosaur is doing the potty dance and finally gets to the bathroom in time, the narrator lightly admonishes Dinosaur for cutting it too close for comfort.

TIRED DINOSAUR

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen

There are over twenty books in this series about dinosaurs learning to read, cleaning their rooms, eating their food, playing with friends, and so much more. In How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?, the parents are humans and the children they are putting to bed are various kinds of dinosaurs. There are not a lot of words on each page and the story is told in rhyming couplets, making it a perfect bedtime story for very young children. Each dinosaur’s species is spelled out somewhere in their bedroom, like the pteranadon’s name in baby blocks or the allosaurus whose name is on the door. It’s a great subtle way of helping the adult reader who is asked over and over, “What kind of dinosaur is that?” but doesn’t know the answer. And these books teach manners, so if you’re struggling with something there might be a book to help you discuss it with your child.

TOY DINOSAUR

It’s Show and Tell, Dexter! by Lindsay Ward

In my post about New Classics, I talked about Don’t Forget Dexter! by Lindsay Ward. Usually I mention if a book is in a series, rather than spotlighting different books in a series in different posts. I am using the fact that I neglected to post about the two sequels as my excuse to talk about the second book, because I can’t talk about dinosaur books without bringing up Dexter. In this second of three books, anxious toy t-rex Dexter T. Rexter is nervous about going to school for Show and Tell. He worries that Jack’s classmates won’t like him and decides to come up with a way to impress them, but he realizes he doesn’t have anything special to do, like dancing to make people like him. In the end he learns that he just has to be himself.

Talking point – you don’t have to change to make people like you. Not everyone will like you, but true friends won’t want you to be any different than who you already are.

WORDY DINOSAUR

Stegothesaurus by Bridget Heos

For the older or more sophisticated child, this book is about a stegosaurus, another stegosaurus, and a stegothesaurus. There’s a lot of wordplay, as you can imagine. When stegothesaurus meets an allothesaurus it seems like a match made in heaven… until he learns that the allothesaurus became what he is by eating a stegothesaurus! It’s a cute story and would be a great jumping off point for teaching kids about what a thesaurus is. I read this to my son when he was 4 and he didn’t like it, but I will try again at some point now that he’s a little older.

Check out Miss Michelle’s Book Nook

Miss Michelle shares her book recommendations each month on the In Our Homeschool blog. Find links to all of her posts here.

Miss Michelle is the sister of Kristen, who writes this blog. She has a daughter who is 9 and a son who is 5. They are not home-schooled, but Miss Michelle is super supportive and proud of her sister for doing it. She has been a full-time Children’s Librarian for over 15 years and loves to recommend her favorite books. You can follow her on Goodreads, where she keeps track of books she has read for storytime, at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/170007385-miss-michelle.