Dinos Don't Give Up!

by Smriti Prasadam-Halls, Richard Merritt (Illustrator)

A humorous, rhyming dinosaur tale about determination and learning that having fun isn’t always about being the best.

Diplodocus Dinah is great at everything! She is an excellent speller; she plays piano; she paints masterpieces; and she knits. There's nothing she can't do and no competition she can't win. But when the Surfing Contest comes to Dino Town, Dinah discovers that surfing is something she just can’t do! For the first time ever, Dinah doesn’t win a competition. Will she be devastated? Or will she decide that there’s more to having fun than winning? A fun, humorous story about perseverance, and learning that you might not always be the best.

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, Childrens, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

Published July 12, 2022

About the author

Smriti Prasadam-Halls is an award-winning, internationally best-selling children’s author whose books have been published in more than thirty languages. Her titles include the Publishers Weekly #1 bestseller I Love You Night and Day, illustrated by Alison Brown. Smriti Prasadam-Halls previously worked at the BBC and in children’s publishing and television as a writer and editor for twelve years. She lives in London with her husband and three sons.

Reviews

[Abdie Estrella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about an adorable dinosaur that is fab and good at everything she does. She's so used to winning and being on the top of her game, but one day she tries something new. This new thing does not come easy for her and she needs to learn that some things take practice to be good at, and that it's also ok to not be perfectly amazing at everything you do.

I love to read this for PreSchool Storytimes with an emphasis on the perfectionism aspect of it. Making sure that the message gets across that making mistakes is OKAY. The people that love you will support you and will cheer you on even if you're not first place all the time.

This book also teaches good sportsmanship, something that little perfectionists might not always be good at.

[Olivia]

See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/dinos-...

DINOS DON'T GIVE UP! is an overall cute story about trying your best. Dinah the Dino is great at everything she does, so when she sees a surfing competition, she decides to enter. She knows she'll win, even though she hasn't been on a surfboard before. Dinah is surprised when she learns it is actually something much harder than she expected, and she comes in last place. Luckily, her friends are there to give her a hug, and Dinah decides to hop back on the board and try again for fun.

What I loved: This book has some great messages around not being the best at everything and trying again. The rhyming text rolls off the tongue nicely and is a fun one to read aloud. Colorful illustrations and adorable dinosaurs will appeal to toddlers and preschoolers. Dinah is a fun main character who has some new things to learn. Children will enjoy the story as well as the clever rhymes throughout with this entertaining dino surfing competition.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, the message about perseverance doesn't totally come across, as she begins to give it more tries at the end of the book. I suppose some of it is her keeping trying during the race, but it would have been great to see her continue to learn beyond the race and eventually improve.

Final verdict: With fun rhymes and bright colors, DINOS DON'T GIVE UP is an entertaining picture book about trying again and being okay with coming in last sometimes.

Please note that I received a review copy. All opinions are my own.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun-to-read rhyming text tells a relatable story through the example of a overachieving dinosaur named Dinah. In this picture book the talented Dinah is great at everything, even providing support to her friends. But when it's time for a surfing competition, Dinah isn't able to handle herself on the board at all. Not only does she not win the race, but she comes in last. Knowing how she must feel, her friends offer reassurance and hugs, and Dinah offers congratulations and compliments to the winner. Even though she isn't the best surfer, she heads back out to the water with plans to enjoy herself. The example of persistence and being a good sport Dinah offers is a good one for young readers since it's unlikely that anyone will be successful at every endeavor and winning isn't always the important thing. After all, if a dino like Dinah doesn't give up, neither should they. With its positive message, this picture book uses plenty of blues and pinks for the cartoonlike artwork and a great deal of movement in various scenes.

[Stace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dinos Don't Give Up! is a young children's picture book that has been written in a rhyming style that reads perfectly throughout.

The book features a young dinosaur called Dinah who is perfect at everything, and I mean everything. She can knit the best, draw the best, she wins all the races, and comes top of everything and everyone loves her too.

That is until a new competition arrives in dino town, surfing. Turns out Dinah isn't that good at surfing.

The book is a fun read and it is filled with glorious full-page, bright and colourful illustrations featuring lots of different dinosaurs.

I got a little bit fed up with Dinah being so perfect and I couldn't understand why everyone loved her so much if every time they tried to do anything they never came first or were the best as Dinah always was, surely that would even get on dino-nerves!!!!

The book was a fun and exciting read and I'm sure children will love it and want to read it over and over again.

[Sanna lukee lapselle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alle 3-vuotias pitää kirjasta tosi paljon, itse aikuisena vähän vähemmän. Ehkä syy on siinä, että mua on alkanut häiritsemään se miten usein lasten ja nuorten kirjojen hahmoista yritetään tehdä jotenkin täydellisiä (etenkin tytöistä, jostain syystä). Vaikka tässä kirjassa Della ei onnistu surffaamisessa ja joutuu kohtaamaan häviön, alkupuolella tehdään selväksi että Della on hyvä KAIKESSA muussa mahdollisessa. Se jotenkin vähentää tarinan samaistuttavuutta, ainakin minun mielestäni.

Muuten kirjassa on kyllä varsin hyvä opetus siitä, että harjoittelemalla voi tulla paremmaksi eikä kannata luovuttaa. Toivoisin vain että se olisi kerrottu hieman eri tavalla.

[Makenna Conner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book teaches students to not give up if at first you fail. It can be a great book to read when students are starting to give up on their schoolwork to remind them that it may take a few tries to get something down.

[Danielle Berg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the artwork and the implication of being a good loser and of having a growth mindset. The idea that she was perfect at everything with no effort felt too unrealistic and a dangerous idea to spread to children.

[jennijohanna. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ihanan värikäs kuvitus ja opettavainen tarina

[Sabrina Wannet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super leuk boek om voor te lezen

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book for young overachievers who also love dinosaurs.

[Mehsi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tja, een leuk boek maar ik vond het toch niet helemaal mijn ding. Toffe illustraties die echt super-kleurrijk en mooi waren, leuk hoe de dino's waren getekend, leuk om zoveel dino-soorten te zien, surfen helemaal tof.
Maar onze hoofdpersoon? Ik vond haar voornamelijk irritant. Ik ben blij dat ze wel vriendelijk was en aardig, maar tja, ik heb gewoon weinig met mensen of in dit geval dino's die alles maar perfect kunnen of denken dat ze dus altijd geweldig zullen zijn. Ik vond het ook gewoon net té magisch dat geen dino even geen zin had in Dina. Iedereen vond haar maar miss perfect. En OMG ze is zo geweldig terwijl niemand anders een kans krijgt maar dat is OK.
Maar het bericht aan het einde? Sorry, misschien als ze wat vaker had gefaald, maar nu kon ze een dingetje niet. Kom op zeg.

[Celine Kosters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dit boek gaat over een dino die overal goed in is. Op een dag is er een surfwedstrijd. Zo moeilijk kan het toch niet zijn? Echter blijkt dat Dina als laatste te eindigen. Dit was ze niet gewend, normaal won ze altijd alles. Dit boek gaat over vallen en opstaan en falen. Het leert je niet op te geven en ook te kijken naar anderen.

Dit boek is voor: 10 prentenboeken die niet ouder zijn dan 10 jaar

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dinah learns it's not winning that's important, after she comes in last at the surf competition.

[Amanda Marsico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute. My daughter wanted to hear it over and over.