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Dinosaurumpus!

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Introducing StoryPlay Books--the smart way to read and play together! StoryPlay Books offer fun ways to engage with little ones during story time and playtime with prompts and activities that everyone will love! Each quality story will delight readers while building early literacy skills for ages 3-5 by helping them develop: problem-solving abilities, reading comprehension, social development, pre-reading skills, memory strengthand more! Each book includes story-related games and crafts to extend the reading experience. Teachers agree that StoryPlay Books are perfect for parents looking to stimulate and engage their kids at home while having fun together!

Each book also shines a spotlight on important topics for this age. Dinosaurumpus -- a rollicking, rhyming story about dinosaurs dancing -- focuses on science.

Are you ready to start reading the StoryPlay way? Ready. Set. Smart!

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

5 people are currently reading
434 people want to read

About the author

Tony Mitton

273 books45 followers

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5 stars
482 (39%)
4 stars
354 (29%)
3 stars
295 (24%)
2 stars
64 (5%)
1 star
11 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
Profile Image for Louise.
273 reviews20 followers
September 18, 2017
A nice story for dinosaur obsessed kids, great pictures and my 2 yr old was joining in with some of the repeated phrases.
Profile Image for Virginia.
1,145 reviews1 follower
May 22, 2013
Full of fun, bright colors and dinosaurs jumping and dancing. The rhythm of the words are also a plus. My two kids LOVE this book and make me read it every night. (They are in our current library rotation.)

A fun read. :)

ETA: My kids were so upset that I returned the book to the library that I ended up buying it. I have ended up buying so many books because of the library. LOL.
Profile Image for Gerry.
Author 43 books118 followers
January 28, 2019
Colourful, quirkily illustrated and amusing rhymes 'Bumpus Jumpus Dinosaurumpus!' may be but unfortunately it did not shake my bones.

It is fun in parts to see what the various dinosaurs get up to, Tricerotops 'blunders along with a BOMP! BOMP! tread', Brontosaurus 'swings his tail with a THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!' while Tyrannosaurus 'crashes in, gnashing his jaws.WALLOP! on the ground go his big back claws' and so on with a variety of other dinosaurs putting their efforts in.

The illustrations, like the dinosaurs, are huge and would probably amuse the children very much. And I feel sure the book would make a much better impression if read aloud to them. Unfortunately I read it alone, and quietly, and it did not give me the feeling of 'Shake, shake, shudder ... near the sludgy old swamp. Everybody's doing the dinosaur romp.' Although I should say this little verse reminded me somewhat of Bobby (Boris) Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers' song 'Monster Mash' from when I was much younger ... now I did find that very amusing - I must be getting old and losing my sense of humour!
22 reviews4 followers
September 21, 2012
Bumpus jumpus Dinosaur Rumpus is a great fun book to read out loud. The book begins with 'a quake and a shiver and a rumbling around' as the dinosaurs arrive and 'ready to romp'. Each dinosaur has their own dance move and rhyme and they are all having a great time until they hear a scary roar sound, the roar of Tyrannosaurus - luckily he wants to join in the romp too. They all dance around until they wear themselves out, begin snoring and fall asleep.

The book would be good for Nursery and Reception children, but I think it would still appeal to Year 1 and 2 children as it's so infectious. The book is enjoyable to read out loud as the pace gets faster throughout the story which matches the pace of the dinosaurs dance. Each page re-iterates the original rhyme 'shake, shake shudder near the sludgy old swamp. Everybody's doing the dinosaur romp' Through the rhyming, children can gain an introduction or understanding of poetry in a very accessible way. I think Bumpusjumpus would be ideal to read out loud to the class as children could easily learn the main lines and join in, or be split into dinosaur groups and all have a chance to speak or do an action for their dinosaur. The illustrations are very colourful and a fantastic way to hook children into the story. The book could also be used to demonstrate beats and rhythm as children can clap along to the beat of the words. All of the dinosaurs mentioned in the book did exist so another possibility would be to use the book as a basis or background for learning about dinosaurs as a topic.
Profile Image for Barbara.
14.9k reviews315 followers
May 17, 2017
This recasting of a picture book originally published in 2002 is charming in its own right with dinosaurs dashing across its pages. Even in this smaller version of the original story, the dinosaurs and their sounds are more delightful than frightening, and readers will want to join them as they romp through the swamp. To aid early literacy, there are several questions and prompts that encourage readers to notice various things in the pictures or count the dinosaurs, thus insuring plenty of engagement on the part of the audience. I am absolutely certain that there will be much shaking and dancing going on by the time the book concludes. What? You didn't know that dinosaurs liked to boogie? Well, now you know. The bright colors in the illustrations add a great deal of visual appeal to this already-fetching story. This one will be a go-to title for anyone desperate for a great read aloud. The book is part of a series intended to help youngsters get ready for school with various comprehension questions and problem-solving skills, all nudged gently with prompts on some of the book's pages.
12 reviews4 followers
October 13, 2013
Shake, shake, shudder near the sludgy old swamp. The dinosaurs are coming! Get ready to romp!

This is a wonderfully illustrated book about dinosaurs having a party but unfortunately a terrifying Tyrannosaurus is about to gatecrash the party. The children anticipate that the dinosaurs will be eaten up but instead he joins in! Each dinosaur has their own dance move and rhyme and they are all having a great time. They all dance around until they wear themselves out, begin snoring and fall asleep.

Great for teaching onomatopoeia words and rhyming words within Key Stage 1. Within Nursery we re-enacted the dinosuar dance moves and sang and dance along. Great book to intergrate movement into the classroom making it good for cross curriculum.

Make note of reading this book prior to reading it to your class though as the dinosaurs names can be very had to pronounce!
Profile Image for Barbara.
14.9k reviews315 followers
December 27, 2014
This board book is fun to read aloud, partly because of the colorful dinosaurs that fill its pages, but also because of the words and sounds describing the dinosaurs' playful antics throughout its pages. although it's doubtful that the real dinosaurs were ever this graceful, it's lots of fun to imagine how playful they might be if they ever got together for a wild rumpus like this. There's no surprise that eventually all the fun must come to an end so the dinosaurs can take a snooze. This one is perfect for sharing with others. Just be careful not to giggle all the way through the reading.
Profile Image for Diana.
1,475 reviews7 followers
July 29, 2017
We read this as part of our unit on dinosaurs. The kids liked it a lot, and we all memorized the repeating rhyme as part of the lesson. I enjoyed the addition of the T-Rex near the end, and the kids had a moment of nervousness when it showed up, which was the whole point. The element that I found the most appreciation for, though, was the way the book wound the kids WAY up and then calmed them back down at the end. It's rare that a book does that, but it's very helpful for those of us who do group storytimes.
Profile Image for Dolly.
Author 1 book671 followers
December 27, 2014
A fun book about dinosaurs. Our girls really enjoyed this one and so did I. We really liked the refrain, "Shake, Shake, Shudder... near the sludgy old swamp. Everybody's doing the dinosaur romp."
10 reviews
September 17, 2023
Dinosaurumpus by Tony Mitton is about different dinosaurs’ physical characteristics and what they like to do in rhymes. The dinosaurs are represented as very friendly and playful creatures that like to do things that a child may find funny or similar to themselves. The picture book “Dinosaurumpus” teaches children to not judge others just by how someone may look or sound. That there are friends waiting to be made everywhere. You should not decide based on how someone looks if they are going to be mean to you or not. That is the lesson, the book is trying to teach children. The dinosaurs are brightly colored, different from what scientists believe dinosaurs to be. The rhymes make the story more engaging and teach the children words that can be more difficult. In the tale Dinosaurumpus Similar to the nursery rhyme The Owl And The Pussy-Cat the sing-song rhymes within the nursery rhyme make it engaging for children. The rhymes make children more curious about dinosaurs. The article, “Introduction to Picturebook Codes” mentions that in picturebooks a lot of times characters are very large when they are to be depicted as scary. In the picture book, “Dinosaurumpus” they play with the size of the T-rex to make him seem even scarier. They only decreased the size of the T-rex compared to the other dinosaurs once the T-rex seemed friendlier.
Profile Image for Melanie Dulaney.
2,250 reviews142 followers
August 12, 2024
This is a picture book published in 2002, but I am in love with it and think every preschool, pre-kinder and kinder teacher ought to have it in their collection and be prepared for many requests to read it over and over again! Who couldn’t love it? There are brightly illustrated dinosaurs, great rhythm and rhyme and kids can holler out the great onomatopoeia words and dance their way through until the dinosaurs slow down and go to sleep. Can’t you just see the happy littles chanting the repeating refrain and making all sorts of fun noises? A must have for lower elementary and primary school.
53 reviews
January 24, 2019
This book had some rhyming and a an attempt at some lyrical cadence to the prose. Some of the rhymes were a stretch, especially for the 3-year-old I read the book with. This book had a few opportunities to work on yes/no and "what" questions with the child. It involved many action words which the child enjoyed acting out to demonstrate he understood what was happening in the book. The book did not have much of a story line but the illustrations were enjoyed by the child.
Profile Image for Jeniece Goellner.
266 reviews16 followers
October 5, 2018
Took me a too many pages to get the rhythm of the sing-song of the book. And I am embarrassed to say as an adult, I had a hard time with some of the dinosaur names. But Once I got going, my daughter really loved it and was bopping along to the beat of the book. So 3 stars and a note to go re-learn dinosaur name pronunciations.
2,148 reviews30 followers
November 14, 2019
Who doesn't love dancing dinosaurs? Definitely a book to practice before reading in a storytime (dinosaur names + words swirling across the page = not a book to sight read) but worth it. The pictures are big and clear and silly (again, dancing dinos) and the rhyme flows pretty well without being obnoxiously sing-songy. With the repeating chorus, the kids had words to repeat and actions that we added in, making it a fun interactive read too. Definitely one I'll be adding into my regular dino rotation.
Profile Image for T.
247 reviews14 followers
August 20, 2022
This book is awesome. While lacking the audio/music version, I have come up with my own song to do for this book. (Though not necessary; I just can’t help move to the beat.) This book gets read/sung at least once a week. For over five years now! Yes, our book is well-worn but oh so fun. Great for ages one on up to fifth or sixth grade. It’s that good. And perfect read or sung.
Profile Image for Lila.
443 reviews3 followers
January 5, 2023
Absolutely delightful! I learned new dinosaur names and had a lot of fun with my grandson, reading this story every day for about two months. The illustrations are bright and colorful, depicting dinosaurs in various stages of dance. This is a must for any parent or grandparent of young kids. You'll enjoy it too!

28 December 2022 - now, my great-grandsons are enjoying this book.
Profile Image for Haaley.
991 reviews35 followers
March 13, 2020
I absolutely love this book. My team teacher introduced me to it and the unique way she read it to the class. I now have it memorized and truly love it.
It is not the same book when read in another way.
Profile Image for Debbie.
378 reviews2 followers
October 4, 2020
I read this book to my grandson last night. It was a good night-time-before-you-go-to-bed story. Fun action with lots of different dino campers and nice language and a repetitive (memorable) refrain.
For as you can imagine...
The dinosaurs are coming
Get ready to romp
Profile Image for Tabi Hunt.
66 reviews
October 13, 2020
Copyright 2003. Genre fiction-poetry/rhyming. This book carried a repetitive rhyme that encouraged my kids to read the book with me. In my classroom, this book would make a great addition to my classroom library.
Profile Image for Katie.
825 reviews4 followers
December 28, 2020
Similar to "Stomp, Dinosaur, Stomp!" in regards to repetitive onomatopoetic verses about dinosaurs and their actions that didn't read very smoothly. Afterwards, I felt that I needed to hear the author read it on YouTube or something to figure out the intended cadence.
Profile Image for Kayla.
135 reviews
November 21, 2022
4 Stars.
Really enjoy reading this one, love the sing song way in witch it is written. It is so fun to read and taught me a few dinosaur names haha... illustrations are great as well. Fantastic read for the littles!
Profile Image for Dedra.
455 reviews10 followers
March 22, 2017
This book was so much fun. Great onomatopoeia-- I could picture reading this with kids and then having them have their own dinosaurumpus dance party. I love the suggested questions to ask throughout and the extra activities at the back. I'm becoming a real fan of this StoryPlay series of books!
Profile Image for Bridget.
358 reviews1 follower
December 10, 2017
This is such a fun book to read! We tap like drums and sing the lines. Always love reading this one
Profile Image for Chris Schaben.
159 reviews1 follower
February 3, 2018
Really fun book with a great rhythm once you get the hang of it. Lots of colorful pictures and fun words as well.
Profile Image for Alisha.
510 reviews
February 6, 2018
This was a fun read for my son's reading time. I had to read it before I read it to him just to make sure I could pronounce all the dinosaur names correctly...LOL. But nevertheless it was adorable.
Profile Image for Peacegal.
11.7k reviews102 followers
April 18, 2018
Wacky, energy-filled book that encourages kids to dance and make sounds along with the goofy dinosaurs. I'm sure I would have liked this one as a kid.
Profile Image for Mely.
1,571 reviews
May 14, 2018
Such a fun and silly story about dancing dinosaurs. My little one loves anything dinosaurs so this was right up our alley.
Profile Image for Annie Gordon.
264 reviews26 followers
June 25, 2018
The illustrations and colors are pretty garish, but the cadence of the book is really fun and silly. It's a fun book to read out loud and get some giggles out.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews

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