My Dinosaur

by Mark Alan Weatherby

Every night a little girl waits by her window for her friend the dinosaur, and when he comes, they play in the woods all night until the sun comes up

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, Childrens, Fiction, Storytime, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sweet, beautifully illustrated story! The text is lyrical and magical--the illustrations are realistic yet, as the illustrator says, "made with pixie dust" ;-> This is a love story about the imagination and big heart of a child. Tremendous!

[Mary]

For kindergarten and first grade writiers, this is a wonderful story for writers workshop. The children could write about where there dionsaur will take them in their dreams. Younger chilren can retell the story with them as the main character. I stop before the end of story and ask what they think might happen. The illustrations are so life like, you may not want to read the words on the pages at first. Have the children tell you what is happening in the story.

[Suzanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The little girl narrates this story telling about the fantastic adventures she and her dinosaur have at night when there is a full moon. I am excited that this book features a girl with her dinosaur because dinosaurs aren't just for boys! The illustrations are soft in grays and blues. The poetic language is easy to understand and full of imagination. The soothing ending is hopeful. Some might say the book is anti-climatic but I enjoyed wondering where the pair would go next on their nighttime escapades. I would use this book during calm-down time and to have a student practice using pictures to re-tell the story because each picture describes very well an event in the plot.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

nicely illustrated

[Jennifer B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice illustrations and a sweet story.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every night a little girl waits by her window for her friend the dinosaur. When the dinosaur comes, they play and frolic in the woods all night until the sun comes up.

Fanciful illustrations.

[Rick Christiansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this for some reason. I will probably give this away.

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweeeeet book full of imagination and gentleness. Love!

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures are gorgeous and very unusual and appealing. I can’t help thinking the young girl depicted in the pictures is a real girl in the author-illustrator’s life, in part because she appears on the dedication page, and also because, despite the not completely realistic style of art, she looks so much like a real little girl.

This story kept making me smile and the final page gave me a chuckle and for me elevated the book from four to five stars. It’s a sweet, not a scary story.

The events can be interpreted as a result of a child’s dreams, a child’s imagination, or can be looked at as a fantasy book. However a reader might look at it, I think it’s a special book. I also love that it’s a little girl, rather than the more common little boy, in a dinosaur book.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very beautiful book both in text and illustrations. A little child is drifting off to sleep when they call for their dragon. He comes to their window and takes them off on an adventure. The night starts drawing to the morning and the child must go back to bed. The next time the moon is full they know their friend dragon will be back. Great book to encourage children to use imagination.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

What kid doesn't dream of having a dinosaur friend? I wasn't a big fan of the distracting typeface, but it's always refreshing to see, as another reviewer noted, a dinosaur book starring a girl. Girls like dinos too!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great work of the magical imagination of children! Loved it.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl and her dinosaur wait for night to adventure into the forest.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how the dinosaur is kind of blurry through most of the book and the little girl is starkly clear except for the times when she is with the dinosaur. Great little quick read before bedtime.

[Cheyenne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations! This is a sweet story full of imagination.

[Lee]

For Bedtime.