Illustrated by Mark Teague
Scholastic Inc. USA
Ages 3-6 yrs
Cuddling up and being read to/ reading probably features high in most children's bedtime routine. Parents play different roles depending on the child's need and their own energy levels. Some kids need to be coaxed to sleep and some sung to. And some kids do not develop a routine at all!
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? uses young dinosaurs to highlight desirable bed time rituals. My daughter rightly observed, "Oh they are showing dinosaurs as babies right?"
As the title suggests, the scenes are set in a child's bedroom or to be specific, a child dinosaur's bedroom. The room's wallpaper has dinosaur motifs and the dinosaurs though large indulge in childlike play and activities, even tantrums.
Each spread is dedicated to one single dinosaur. The name of the dinosaur is cleverly hidden in the illustration sometimes spelt out on the rug or in the form of ABC blocks on the floor and so on. This provides for some engaging activity.
The dinosaurs' bedtime shenanigans are posed as questions - "Do dinosaurs cry/ throw their teddy bear about/ slam their tail and pout?..." . Though not recommended, your child may decide to add it to his antic collection and tomfoolery to postpone sleep time!
The story ends with the affirmation of good behaviour before one falls asleep- kiss- hug- turn out the light ( with the tail!)- snuggle in. The pictures on these pages make the formidable creature look extremely endearing.
The text is simple and rhymes, making it fun to read aloud. The dinosaur names remain tongue twisters for adults and kids alike- be it Triceratops or Pteranodon. They are rounded up on one single page for ready reference.
This delightful book works at many levels:
It will garner more than a few amused looks and even some chuckles.
It will prompt your child to read aloud.
It will provoke her to look for the name of the particular dinosaur on every page
It subtly shows people from various cultures as the parents.
It emphasises good bed time behaviour and even goads a reluctant child to try sleeping in her own bed!!
19 comments:
Niceeee. can't wait to get my hands on this 1
sounds great!
where does one get it?! :)
mindfulM
am sure she will like it
mama mia-
Flipkart zindabad
sounds nice!
nice one art. brings back memories of the dino-mania days :)
there is a whole series around this if i remember right.
sandhya-
it is nice.
chox-
yes there is an entire series - http://www.scholastic.com/titles/dinogoodnight/
Aah. Now I remember - see this!
http://www.saffrontree.org/2009/10/dino-mania.html
oh the brat would love this. he is obsessed with dinosaurs.
Jane Yolen is a terrific author. (america's hans christian andersen!) Havent read this one though. Will check it out for S.Thanks!
Discovered Jane last Crocus. (we read The Emperor's Kite - a "modern myth" as she calls it) And got hooked on her "fantasy/folktale" genre in picture books. Started digging more into her work -
Read an awe-inspiring interview here - http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=1415
(and art, dont miss the picture of her doing a read-aloud of the dinosaur book you have reviewed!)
Owl Moon and Pumpkin Baby - got to check those out too! Well, she has written over 250 books - picture books, short story collection all in the folklore/fantasy genre. One amazing writer! Many thanks Art for bringing her to ST. :) I think it'd be wonderful to introduce fantasy through her books, especially for the early childhood. With S, I think I should just go ahead and start her on a Jane Yolen "take-it-in-small-bites" fantasy diet! :))
@P: I’d have totally overlooked the author had you not pointed it out.. Pumpkin Baby is awesome indeed, had not paid much attention to who the author was somehow. Will look out for Owl Moon - sounds delightful - any story about a girl and her father will be loved both by the mommy and babies in these parts :) Thanks mucho!
Cool...thanks for the review!
How Do Dinosaurs... books were quite popular in our household - esp., Clean Their Rooms, Go To School, and Eat Their Food :)
Ooh, and yes, Jane Yolen is much loved - Mama's Kiss was earmarked for sharing here in ST but it slipped my mind...
I love the cover page. Thanks for this Art.
Somehow I feel, what dinosaurs can do, even mothers can't.
I like how you have concluded Art, highlighting what the book specifically offers.
Jane Yolen's entire "How Do Dinosaurs" series is excellent - and the cheery illustrations add to the fun.
Thanks- Jane Yolen does seem to have a very high "must read" quotient
am making sure I add more books by her to our collection
chox/ praba/ sheela
thanks for the links and sheela u know why
meera/ vibha/ bitsofchox
:-)
Oh we love this series. I have "How do Dinosaurs get well?" Mentioned it during Chox's post last yr on Dinos :)
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