Boo's Dinosaur

by Betsy Byars, Erik Brooks (Illustrations)

An early chapter book from Newbery Medal winner Betsy Byars When Boo brings home a dinosaur that only she can see, her brother Sammy, doesn't want to encourage her antics. Boo and her dinosaur are inseparable until Boo says good-bye to the dino quite suddenly. When Sammy sees how sad his sister is, he understands Boo's need for her dinosaur more than he wants to admit. So much so that he almost believes it . . . almost. Betsy Byars has written many chapter books, including Little Horse and Little Horse on His Own . Her language, perfectly tailored to beginning readers, combines with Erik Brooks's charming illustrations to make a delightful book for children who are just starting to read. Boo's Dinosaur is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Chapter Books, Fantasy, Juvenile

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

Betsy Byars was an American author of children's books. She wrote over sixty books for young people. Her first novel was published in 1962. Her novel Summer of the Swans won the 1971 Newbery Medal. She also received a National Book Award for Young People's Literature for The Night Swimmers and an Edgar Award for Wanted ... Mud Blossom!!

Daughters Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers are also writers.

Reviews

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is about a girl who wants a dinosaur. One day she finds one. She asked her dad if she can keep it. He said yes. One sad night the dinosaur had to leave. Boo got sad but the dinosaur gave boo a cape so she can fly to see her. I liked this story because it is cool to have a pet dinosaur. Also the book is good

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short beginning chapter book about a girl, her brother, and her imaginary dinosaur. The chapters feel disconnected to me. I don't see any motivation (either on the part of the dinosaur or the little girl) for the dinosaur to leave so suddenly. Good transitional book between picture books and chapter books due to the length and the importance of the illustrations at the end of each chapter.

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

This will be perfect for genius 3 and 4 year olds reading on their own, perhaps even 5 year olds. Or for those parents who insist on a "book with chapters" for preschoolers

It's too babyish for most kids reading simple chapter books. And it might have worked well as a real beginning reader, but the text is too complicated to fit on those shelves.

Cute enough book. But you will have to work at it to find the right audience.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Review: I picked this one out for Munchkin at the library. It is a cute book about a girl with a dinosaur for an imaginary friend. I really like the sibling relationship in it, Sammy is such a patient and good friend to Boo. It is a nice introduction to chapter books, though it reads a little easier than I expected, like a level 3 reader book but has the look of a regular chapter book, I am finding that is important to young readers, to feel like they are getting out of kid books. Munchkin enjoyed the story, but I don't think he would pick it up again.

[Jessica S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a cute beginner chapter book that had good sentences and a solid plot, not completely "dumbed down" like many other beginner chapter books tend to be. Both my 3 and 4 year olds enjoyed the story and it kept their attention.

[Susan Rickman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little plot isn't above children. Quick chapters made for a good first chapter book. Henry had little patience for it because it was quite dull.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet, and as a little sister it spoke to me. Read it on my kindle, was sorry to miss the magic of the illustrations.

[Diana S · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute!

[Jeniece Goellner · Rating 4 out of 5]

First early readers chapter book read with my daughter. She seemed to really enjoy the process of one chapter a night and coming back to the story the next day.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book. I read it too my kiddos before bedtime. They loved it.❤️

[Adrienne Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though this was the quickest chapter book I have ever read with my daughter, it was really cute and a fun imaginative story.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short and sweet chapter book that my little boys loved. Each chapter is only a couple pages, there are full-page illustrations in each chapter, and only 6 chapters in the book. It is the story of a little girl and her imaginary dinosaur friend. Perfect for a beginning chapter book for young readers.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun story about a little girl with a vivid imagination, who makes friends with a dinosaur. It's an interesting commentary on growing up and losing your sense of wonder and belief in magic. Our girls enjoy this story and we've borrowed it a couple of times from the library.

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book! It is so cute and the illustrations are amazing! I was excited to see what the next page was going to look like and I thought that the story line was very good too! I would recommend for young kids learning to read. :)

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little girl daydreams of her imaginary friend: the giant dinosaur. Has a never-ending story quality about it, as in how the text marries with the many wonderful black and white illustrations.

Chapter book for ages 6-7, though 5 year olds love this book!

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read aloud--even my almost 3 year old sat and listened to it. She was even able to tell me some of the details at the end. She loved that it had pictures on each page. The chapters are short and quick to read. My almost 5 year old loved it too!

[Hillvan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great first chapter book for a read aloud. Cute pics and Boo is endearing. Brother Sammy is great big brother, most of the time. A bit choppy from chapter to chapter. Very sad when the dinosaur had to leave. I got tired of the "please, please, please", used several times.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an adorable early chapter book about a girl, her imaginary dinosaur friend, and her very patient and loving older brother. Not much meat here, but so much better than the average early reader books. Good for new readers to read aloud to younger siblings.

[Kristine Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read aloud, especially for 2-3 year olds. Very short chapters with an adorable main character.

[Sharan Thind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boo had found a real dinosaur and she had been riding on it. When the Dino left, it gave boo a magic cape that she could fly when no one was looking. It was really cool.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was about a girl named boo she found a real life dinosaur.

[Karen]

Jacks first chapter book! We read it in 2 sittings and he loved it. Asked questions about the characters and was completely fascinated.

[Wendypeacebabymay11 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was ok

We liked it. I have to type 16 words for this to count as so here's sixteen words. Yup, weird.

[M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early 2nd grade chapter book about a child’s imaginary dinosaur

[Big G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boo has an imaginary dinosaur friend and they have fun adventures together.