The Dinosaur

by Anna Milbourne, Mandy Field (Illustrator)

Follows a young stegosaurus from his hatching until he is full grown, as he moves through the landscape and faces prehistoric perils.

Genres: Dinosaurs, Picture Books, Childrens

24 pages, Hardcover

First published September 24, 2004

About the author

Growing up in North West England and in Germany, Anna wrote plays about talking animals, and stories about naughty children, and drew on every available surface. After school, she did an Art Foundation course, then a degree in German Literature & Philosophy at Oxford University. In 1998 she found her perfect job at Usborne in London, writing about everything from curious penguins to trips to the Moon. Usborne.com

Reviews

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read aloud story which children will find engaging and exciting. There are lots of points in the book where the dinosaurs ‘tap’ or ‘stomp’ and the teacher could make these noises as they read the book to create excitement. The book also includes factual information by using real dinosaur names and their characteristics such as plant eaters and the sizes. The last double page spread offers lots of opportunities for questioning and could even be extended to a Big Write about what it would be like if dinosaurs were around today and whether it would be good or bad. This book could be used well with Year 1 - Year 3 children.

[The Book Box]

I checked this out from the school library, and Mama and I read it together.

[Lev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked that the boy said "why aren't there any dinosaurs right now?" and eventually he understood that it's probably better, because they would crush cars and people would die a lot.

[Вика Медведь · Rating 5 out of 5]

<3

[Moodles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Moodles read this book with daddy. He didn't like the ending of this book because he thinks it didn't end very good.

[Kali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright, engaging illustrations raise this work above the usual dinosaur picture book, even though the subject matter is well worn.

[Jennifer Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a cute story that delves into the imagination of children and also satisfies their curiosity of dinosaurs. This book is told through the perspective of a baby dinosaur and introduces children to real dinosaur names. This book would be a good one to have in the classroom to engage students and begin to introduce some history into their lives. Teachers can use this book to draw in students, particularly young boys, to write more about a topic that they are interested in.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story that incorporates non-fiction information into a fictional story. A little boy goes to a museum and is learning about dinosaurs. Even though nobody has ever seen one alive, scientists know a lot about what their lives would be like. There is a great section encouraging the reader to consider what life would be like now if dinosaurs were still alive. The pictures are large and colorful, and this would be a good story to read to young children.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once in a while I come across cute children books worth rating. This book was really cute in the start and it really led into what I thought was going to be a cute ending asking questions to think about. However, it really fizzled in the end at my opinion. On the bright side the pictures were cute and the dinosaurs were properly name and it kept my son's attention which is really the most important that why my rating is 2.5

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduces the young reader to stegosaurus, allosaurus, and diplodocus, even showing how the herbivore stegosaurus could defend itself from the attack of a hungry predator. Cute illustrations, and a young child could easily learn a few things from this book without even realising they are learning!

[Peri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute little book about a baby dinosaur.

[Ms. Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. I read the French version and it was an excellent translation. I will be using this in my French storytime as the children get more advanced.