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Dinosaur Thunder
Key Features Description An imaginative story of a little boy who conquers his fear of thunder! When lightning flares in the faraway sky, and clouds growl like lions waking, big brother Chad is thrilled by the coming storm. But not little Brannon. He looks for a place to hide. Each adult tries to calm Brannon in turn, by comparing the thunder to something that's not scary. "It's only a big cat purring," Daddy says. But Brannon has once been frightened by a cat, and again he runs to take cover. It's not until the thunder is compared to dinosaurs that Brannon loses his fear. He knows all about dinosaurs. He loves them, and always wanted to see one. Now, he finds himself... Show More An imaginative story of a little boy who conquers his fear of thunder! When lightning flares in the faraway sky, and clouds growl like lions waking, big brother Chad is thrilled by the coming storm. But not little Brannon. He looks for a place to hide. Each adult tries to calm Brannon in turn, by comparing the thunder to something that's not scary. "It's only a big cat purring," Daddy says. But Brannon has once been frightened by a cat, and again he runs to take cover. It's not until the thunder is compared to dinosaurs that Brannon loses his fear. He knows all about dinosaurs. He loves them, and always wanted to see one. Now, he finds himself comforting himself and his big brother as he Clomps and he Stomps and he Rages and Rumbles with with all the ferocity of Dinosaur Thunder! Lyrical writing with powerful emotional resonance will inspire the youngest reader to take charge of their wildest fears! Product Details Item #: NTS556235 9780545562355 Paperback Book 32 Pre-K - K Key Features Item #: NTS556235 9780545562355 Paperback Book 32 Pre-K - K
Hardcover
First published May 1, 2012
About the author
Marion Dane Bauer
180 books186 followersMarion Dane Bauer is the author of more than one hundred books for young people, ranging from novelty and picture books through early readers, both fiction and nonfiction, books on writing, and middle-grade and young-adult novels. She has won numerous awards, including several Minnesota Book Awards, a Jane Addams Peace Association Award for RAIN OF FIRE, an American Library Association Newbery Honor Award for ON MY HONOR, a number of state children's choice awards and the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota for the body of her work.
She is also the editor of and a contributor to the ground-breaking collection of gay and lesbian short stories, Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence.
Marion was one of the founding faculty and the first Faculty Chair for the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her writing guide, the American Library Association Notable WHAT'S YOUR STORY? A YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO WRITING FICTION, is used by writers of all ages. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen different languages.
She has six grandchildren and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her partner and a cavalier King Charles spaniel, Dawn.
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INTERVIEW WITH MARION DANE BAUER
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Q. What brought you to a career as a writer?
A. I seem to have been born with my head full of stories. For almost as far back as I can remember, I used most of my unoccupied moments--even in school when I was supposed to be doing other "more important" things--to make up stories in my head. I sometimes got a notation on my report card that said, "Marion dreams." It was not a compliment. But while the stories I wove occupied my mind in a very satisfying way, they were so complex that I never thought of trying to write them down. I wouldn't have known where to begin. So though I did all kinds of writing through my teen and early adult years--letters, journals, essays, poetry--I didn't begin to gather the craft I needed to write stories until I was in my early thirties. That was also when my last excuse for not taking the time to sit down to do the writing I'd so long wanted to do started first grade.
Q. And why write for young people?
A. Because I get my creative energy in examining young lives, young issues. Most people, when they enter adulthood, leave childhood behind, by which I mean that they forget most of what they know about themselves as children. Of course, the ghosts of childhood still inhabit them, but they deal with them in other forms--problems with parental authority turn into problems with bosses, for instance--and don't keep reaching back to the original source to try to fix it, to make everything come out differently than it did the first time. Most children's writers, I suspect, are fixers. We return, again and again, usually under the cover of made-up characters, to work things through. I don't know that our childhoods are necessarily more painful than most. Every childhood has pain it, because life has pain in it at every stage. The difference is that we are compelled to keep returning to the source.
Q. You write for a wide range of ages. Do you write from a different place in writing for preschoolers than for young adolescents?
A. In a picture book or board book, I'm always writing from the womb of the family, a place that--while it might be intruded upon by fears, for instance--is still, ultimately, safe and nurturing. That's what my own early childhood was like, so it's easy for me to return to those feelings and to recreate them.
When I write for older readers, I'm writing from a very different experience. My early adolescence, especially, was a time of deep alienation, mostly from my peers but in some ways from my family as well. And so I write my older stories out of that pain, that longing for connection. A story has to have a problem at its core. No struggle
She is also the editor of and a contributor to the ground-breaking collection of gay and lesbian short stories, Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence.
Marion was one of the founding faculty and the first Faculty Chair for the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her writing guide, the American Library Association Notable WHAT'S YOUR STORY? A YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO WRITING FICTION, is used by writers of all ages. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen different languages.
She has six grandchildren and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her partner and a cavalier King Charles spaniel, Dawn.
-------------------------------------
INTERVIEW WITH MARION DANE BAUER
-------------------------------------
Q. What brought you to a career as a writer?
A. I seem to have been born with my head full of stories. For almost as far back as I can remember, I used most of my unoccupied moments--even in school when I was supposed to be doing other "more important" things--to make up stories in my head. I sometimes got a notation on my report card that said, "Marion dreams." It was not a compliment. But while the stories I wove occupied my mind in a very satisfying way, they were so complex that I never thought of trying to write them down. I wouldn't have known where to begin. So though I did all kinds of writing through my teen and early adult years--letters, journals, essays, poetry--I didn't begin to gather the craft I needed to write stories until I was in my early thirties. That was also when my last excuse for not taking the time to sit down to do the writing I'd so long wanted to do started first grade.
Q. And why write for young people?
A. Because I get my creative energy in examining young lives, young issues. Most people, when they enter adulthood, leave childhood behind, by which I mean that they forget most of what they know about themselves as children. Of course, the ghosts of childhood still inhabit them, but they deal with them in other forms--problems with parental authority turn into problems with bosses, for instance--and don't keep reaching back to the original source to try to fix it, to make everything come out differently than it did the first time. Most children's writers, I suspect, are fixers. We return, again and again, usually under the cover of made-up characters, to work things through. I don't know that our childhoods are necessarily more painful than most. Every childhood has pain it, because life has pain in it at every stage. The difference is that we are compelled to keep returning to the source.
Q. You write for a wide range of ages. Do you write from a different place in writing for preschoolers than for young adolescents?
A. In a picture book or board book, I'm always writing from the womb of the family, a place that--while it might be intruded upon by fears, for instance--is still, ultimately, safe and nurturing. That's what my own early childhood was like, so it's easy for me to return to those feelings and to recreate them.
When I write for older readers, I'm writing from a very different experience. My early adolescence, especially, was a time of deep alienation, mostly from my peers but in some ways from my family as well. And so I write my older stories out of that pain, that longing for connection. A story has to have a problem at its core. No struggle
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
March 27, 2026
Fear and the associations we make when fearful are examined in a safe and comfortable way for children. Truth be told this story reminded me of A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury (just the title). This would be a very good book for a child who may be having a problem adjusting to change; shows that everything will turn out for the best.
August 7, 2017
If you are a parent (and judging from their reviews a lot of the teachers and librarians who review picture books here aren't) odds are you have dealt with a child who is afraid of thunder. My own 13 yr old STILL is known to flee to my bed during a bad storm. And though she knows she is safe inside, that the thunder really is "clouds bumping", she still hates it.
So I can really empathize with the family here, all trying to reassure small Brannon (and if that's a real name that kid will be spelling it for people for a lifetime, BTW) that thunder isn't that scary. But their explanations, well meant, only bring up new fears. And it is not until his older brother suggests that it is "dinosaur thunder" can Brannon not only overcome his fear and even enjoy the storm!
The artwork is a little flat, but bright and colorful, and the text color changes during the dinosaur sequence work well. This will be enjoyed by dinosaur fans, regardless of thunder fears. And while it may not "cure" the fear for a lot of kids (it certainly wouldn't have helped mine), it might inspire parents to help their kids reimagine thunder and lightning in a positive way.
So I can really empathize with the family here, all trying to reassure small Brannon (and if that's a real name that kid will be spelling it for people for a lifetime, BTW) that thunder isn't that scary. But their explanations, well meant, only bring up new fears. And it is not until his older brother suggests that it is "dinosaur thunder" can Brannon not only overcome his fear and even enjoy the storm!
The artwork is a little flat, but bright and colorful, and the text color changes during the dinosaur sequence work well. This will be enjoyed by dinosaur fans, regardless of thunder fears. And while it may not "cure" the fear for a lot of kids (it certainly wouldn't have helped mine), it might inspire parents to help their kids reimagine thunder and lightning in a positive way.
October 27, 2013
This would be a great book for story time since there are movements included in the book for the kids to act out, and a phrase "Brannon hides again" that the kids could chime in on while the book is read. It also would be fine one on one, with a child who is frightened of thunder. Bibliotherapy is a phrase that came and went, but this book would fit under the term: a book that can help with a problem. Brannon is frightened of thunder. As the storm begins, he keeps hiding from the sound and glare. Each family member in turn tries to console him and fails until his big brother compares thunder to dinosaurs, which Brannon loves. It still doesn't completely keep him from being scared but snuggling with Mama and dancing the Dinosaur Thunder Dance helps drive away the fear for both boys. Charming book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2016
A fun new book about a boy who is afraid of thunder. Various family members try to comfort him, with no success; until his brother compares the thunder to dinosaurs, which Brannon knows about. Looking forward to trying this in my spring rain story time. 1/29/13
Used for story time and it went over really well, with all the sound effects. 7/3/13
Had some older children for spring break and this enticed them in and from the back to the front of the room. 4/14/15
Chosen for PJ by older boy and worked well for Story Time with the day care and older children.
Used for story time and it went over really well, with all the sound effects. 7/3/13
Had some older children for spring break and this enticed them in and from the back to the front of the room. 4/14/15
Chosen for PJ by older boy and worked well for Story Time with the day care and older children.
October 2, 2012
Very cool illustrations that use a variety of printmaking techniques. Cute story for kids who are afraid of thunder.
February 19, 2015
I chose this due to the illustrations, it stands out from other books. This great illustrated book, helps children conquer their fears of storms. The book is about a little boy Brandon who is scared of thunder and lightening. His family will tell him it's angels bowling or the clouds clashing together, but finally is brother says its dinosaurs which Brandon really enjoyed. He feels much better and is no longer afraid, he just imagines all the great dinosaurs up in the sky stomping around.
September 18, 2015
Dinosaur Thunder is a fun book that helps to show children that thunderstorms are not as bad and scary as they seem. The two brothers in this story also show how you can always find comfort in each other. This story goes through all of the different 'theories' about what thunder actually is and in the end the boys say that it is all of the dinosaurs in the sky.
May 3, 2013
Loved it for my tot. Not as clever as some books about fears but my kid loves dinos so good for us.
January 7, 2014
This is a great book for young students. Most young children are scared of thunder. This book is about how a young boy conquers his fear of thunder by using his imagination of what the thunder is.
June 30, 2014
What a great book to ease the fear of thunder! Love it!
January 12, 2019
There's a storm coming and Chad is excited but Brannon is afraid of the thunder. Dad and Chad try calm him down by explaining that the thunder is angels angels bowling, cats purring, and clouds bumping into each other. Eventually Chad tries to tell Brannon that the thunder is dinosaurs. Brannon loves dinos. Both boys spend some time stomping around the house as dinosaurs. But when a huge thunder rumbles the house even Chad goes running.
Nothing special. Good for helping children over fears of storms. I have always found Chodos-Irvine's art to be less than stellar.
Nothing special. Good for helping children over fears of storms. I have always found Chodos-Irvine's art to be less than stellar.
March 2, 2022
Although there is not a whole lot of substance in this book in terms of learning a lesson and taking something out of it, this is a very cute book for young children. The illustrations are very imaginative and explore the child's mind as it shows what a little imagination can do for you. This is a cute way to show kids that thunder and lightening do not have to be a scary thing and can in fact make life a little more imaginative and fun.
January 10, 2018
Brannon is afraid of storms. Every time it thunders, Brannon runs and hides. Daddy, Mommy, Grandma, and Grandpa all try to help him by comparing the thunder to angels bowling, cats purring, and clouds bumping into each other. Only big brother compares thunder to something that doesn't scare Brannon... dinosaurs!
May 7, 2019
We LOVED this one. A boy is frightened because of an approaching thunderstorm, and is able to convert his fear to joy through imagining the storm as dinosaurs stomping around. My dino-loving 3-year-old loved the idea and really related to the main character. We are already looking forward to our next thunderstorm so that we can pretend the same.
February 28, 2018
A storm blows in and scares the boy. They tell him it's just a cat purring, angels bowling, clouds bumping into each other. Still scary. Then his brother tells him it's dinosaurs stomping. It's less scary and they dance to the thunder.
June 11, 2019
Great book for the right audience. Very fun illustrations, with the text helping tell the story just by getting bigger as the booms get louder. I still feel uncomfortable myself in a storm, though, and this wouldn't help me because I know it's the lightning that is the scary part!
September 29, 2022
Many children are afraid of lightning and thunder. I love how this book goes through many explanations designed to ease a child's mind on the issue. I love different ways we can think of things that move us from fear to peace.
February 21, 2023
This book would be great for preschool age to about first grade. There are very simple words in this book that young kids will enjoy and understand. The only reason I am giving this book 2 stars is I know there is so many better children's books out there.
April 22, 2024
This is a really fun read with such engaging illustrations. The story is easy to follow and takes us on a fun adventure with dinosaurs. A good read for young children especially those interested in dinosaurs.
February 13, 2026
This story would be a great ender to a classroom day, I think. It describes a powerful storm that rolls in and the loud booms that you would typically hear in a storm setting. This is a way to let kids be less scared of how nature happens and occurs all the time.
August 6, 2019
Headed to the library on a rainy day and it was the perfect book. My three year old walked out of the library wanting to hear thunder. It's amazing how a book can transform fear into excitement.
July 27, 2021
The illustrations are sweet, simple, but expressive.
March 19, 2017
2 1/2 Stars. Ideas to handle the conversations with kids afraid of storms.
January 5, 2017
Dinosaurs
Overcoming fear
Overcoming fear
October 15, 2012
An imaginative story of a little boy who conquers his fear of thunder! When lightning flares in the faraway sky, and clouds growl like lions waking, big brother Chad is thrilled by the coming storm. But not little Brannon. He looks for a place to hide. Each adult tries to calm Brannon in turn, by comparing the thunder to something that's not scary. "It's only a big cat purring," Daddy says. But Brannon has once been frightened by a cat--and again, he runs to take cover. It's not until the thunder is compared to dinosaurs that Brannon loses his fear. He knows all about dinosaurs. He loves them, and always wanted to see one. Now, he finds himself comforting himsel, and his big brother, as he Clomps and he Stomps and he Rages and Rumbles with with all the ferocity of Dinosaur Thunder! Lyrical writing with powerful emotional resonance will inspire the youngest reader to take charge of their wildest fears!
Subjects
Thunderstorms -- Juvenile fiction.
Fear -- Juvenile fiction
Dinosaurs -- Juvenile fiction
Family
Siblings - Positive Big Brother Role. ;)
Subjects
Thunderstorms -- Juvenile fiction.
Fear -- Juvenile fiction
Dinosaurs -- Juvenile fiction
Family
Siblings - Positive Big Brother Role. ;)
July 17, 2012
Two brothers are playing with some blocks when a thunder storm starts outside. The younger brother gets scared and wants to hide from what sounds like "lions waking." Various members of the family tell Brannon that the thunder is only "a big cat purring" or "angels bowling in heaven" or other such things. Each explanation only causes Brannon to run and hide again, just as scared as ever. Only when his older brother tells him that it is "dinosaurs stomping around" does Brannon get excited. Because Brannon knows all about dinosaurs, and he really likes them! In fact "I LOVE dinosaurs," he says.
This is a sweet story about how something scary can become something not-quite-so-scary when someone who is older and wiser (even by just a couple of years) helps the little become brave. The illustrations are full of lots of dinosaur colors with soft-fluffy shapes that resemble the curves of clouds. What a fun story to help calm fears of thunder and lightning.
This is a sweet story about how something scary can become something not-quite-so-scary when someone who is older and wiser (even by just a couple of years) helps the little become brave. The illustrations are full of lots of dinosaur colors with soft-fluffy shapes that resemble the curves of clouds. What a fun story to help calm fears of thunder and lightning.
June 4, 2012
When Brannon feels anxious about the thunder accompanying a storm, his family tries to reassure him by comparing it to "a big cat purring" (unpaged), "angels bowling in heaven" (unpaged), "the clouds bumping together" (unpaged), and "dinosaurs stomping around" (unpaged). Although he draws comfort from all the suggestions, his big brother Chad's linking the storm to dinosaurs does the trick since he loves dinosaurs, as do many youngsters. I loved the language used to describe Brannon's reaction to those dinosaurs and the dinosaur thunder dance he and Chad do. The illustrations created with a variety of printmaking techniques feature wallpaper, vinyl, plastic, and even pencil erasers to result in interesting images.
June 1, 2012
I'm middle ground on this book. I like the story and the way each family member tries to help the boy overcome his fear. I enjoyed seeing the different places that he hid and liked which explanation he took to the best. (Good job, brother.) I was a little put off by some of the punctuation; perhaps that was my personal preferences as an editor. At times I liked the illustrations, and at times they didn't seem to fit the book. But overall the book is fine and there will be definite audiences that will enjoy it.
Not quite something I'd use in storytime, but could work as a book talk or extra book option for the kids to read on their own afterwards.
Not quite something I'd use in storytime, but could work as a book talk or extra book option for the kids to read on their own afterwards.
September 3, 2012
Not quite up there with my favorite thunder books- "Thunder Cake" and "One Hippopotamus" - but the concept is energetic and imaginative. Family members have different ways of explaining thunder to a fearful boy. It's his brother and his own imagination that help him deal with his fear though. Energetic pictures tumble forward. And dinosaurs are always popular - especially as a way to take the crash of a storm and make it more palatable to the preschool set.
February 6, 2013
I didn't like this one much at all at first--the art really doesn't do much for me, and I didn't really care about Brennan (or whatever the kid's name is) and his fear of thunder. But once the kid's brother brings up dinosaurs during a storm to explain the noise, it actually gets super cute. I can see it being a great choice for kids like the one in this book, who are afraid of thunder but love dinosaurs...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews