Children's Books discussion

For the month of July, the Picture Book Club will focus on DINOSAURS!

Please VOTE HERE by nominating five books from the following list for our official club reads. To vote, simply list your choices in a COMMENT.

I'd love it if we can have a spectrum of books from factual books about dinosaurs and paleontologists to fanciful and fun books about dinosaurs as pets or dinosaurs as the lead characters.

You can cast your votes through June 25th.

Please choose five of the following:


Digging Up Dinosaurs

Stone Girl, Bone Girl

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

Dinosaur Train

Dinosaur Roar! Board Book

Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp

Danny and the Dinosaur

Dinosaur!

Dinosaurumpus!

When Dinosaurs Came with Everything

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs

If the Dinosaurs Came Back

Ten Terrible Dinosaurs

Buying, Training, and Caring for Your Dinosaur

Drumheller Dinosaur Dance

Dinosaurs Are Back and It's All Your Fault Edward!

My Dinosaur

Dinosaur's Binkit

Thunderfeet: Alaska's Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Critters

The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas

Dinosaur vs. Bedtime

Trouble at the Dinosaur Cafe

Oh, Say Can You Say DI-NO-SAUR?

Curious George and the Dinosaur

Curious George's Dinosaur Discovery



Little Grunt and the Big Egg

Dancing Dinos Go to School

Detective Dinosaur

Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon

My Visit to the Dinosaurs

Dinosaur Bones

Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs

Little Critter: The Lost Dinosaur Bone

Dinosaur Starts School

Dazzle the Dinosaur

The Mine-O-Saur

Dinosaur Woods: Can Seven Clever Critters Save Their Forest Home?

Dino Pets

And in the "How Do Dinosaurs" series:
How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?
How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their FriendsHow Do Dinosaurs Go To School?How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms?

Please note there were two books nominated that are longer picture books but still fit the "picture book" category--they would just be for older children and require a bit more time to read:
Dinosaur Mummies: Beyond Bare-Bone Fossils
The Magic School Bus In The Time Of The Dinosaurs

I'll start off the nominations:

Digging Up Dinosaurs (about paleontology)

Stone Girl, Bone Girl (the story of Mary Anning)

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?

How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends

Dinosaur Train

Dinosaur Roar! Board Book

Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp

Danny and the Dinosaur

Dinosaur!

Dinosaurumpus!

When Dinosaurs Came with Everything

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?

Danny and the Dinosaur

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs

If the Dinosaurs Came Back

Ten Terrible Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs Galore!

Buying, Training, and Caring for Your Dinosaur

Drumheller Dinosaur Dance (this looks so cool and growing up in Alberta and having actually gone Dinosaur bone hunting in Drumheller for a school field trip, I could not resist nominating this book)

The Dinosaurs are Back and It's All Your Fault Edward!

I have not read any dinosaur books, but the following look promising.

When Dinosaurs Came with Everything

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

My Dinosaur

The Magic School Bus In The Time Of The Dinosaurs

I've read the above and think they're good. I have some on my to read shelf too, I think, so I may edit this. And, I'll read any that win as long as I can find them.

And, I have to say that I was very disappointed when I remembered that dragons are not dinosaurs. ;-)
How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head ;-)

Dinosaur's Binkitwas recommended to me.
Thunderfeet: Alaska's Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Critters
I know a mammoth isn't a dinosaur, but I wanted to share this book I came across the illustrations are beautiful. Mammoth Magic
The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas

Dinosaur vs. Bedtime

Well, I like the looks of many (ok, all) of the books already nominated. But here's more to consider:

Trouble at the Dinosaur Cafe by Brian Moses


Oh, Say Can You Say DI-NO-SAUR? by Bonnie Worth

Curious George and the Dinosaur by Margret Rey

Kay wrote: "urious George and the Dinosaur by Margret Rey "

I missed that Curious George book. ;-)

Lisa wrote: "And, I have to say that I was very disappointed when I remembered that dragons are not dinosaurs.

Dragons would certainly be a good topic for another month.

Little Grunt and the Big Egg

Thank you for the recommendations thus far, everyone.

Stephen, I believe the books you posted, while they look very interesting, are a bit beyond the usual picture book range (appx. 34 pages, mostly illustrations) and thus will not work for purposes of the picture book club so I have deleted the post from the list of nominations. If you have any other to recommend that are more picture book format please feel welcome to post!

How about...
Dancing Dinos Go to School

Stephen wrote: "How about...
Dancing Dinos Go to School"

Looks perfect! Thanks.

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs is very popular in my library. Very few words also.

How about Detective Dinosaur it has about the same number of pages as Danny and the Dinosaur.

Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon -- Another picture book about Mary Anning, however, she discovered an ichthyosaur, which is not technically a dinosaur, but rather a huge sea reptile that looked a bit like a huge fish or dolphin (personally, I don't think this should matter, but ...)


My Visit to the Dinosaurs and Dinosaur Bones, two paleontology picture books by Aliki

Gundula wrote: "My Visit to the Dinosaurs and Dinosaur Bones, two paleontology picture books by Aliki "

Both are very good. My grandson and also love Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp, and if I had a nickle for every time we read Dinosaur Roar!, I could open my own book store!

I haven't read Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs , but it looks good. I like children learning that scientists can be wrong about some theories, then change when they learn more.

Most of the books I would suggest have already been posted! :)

Little Critter: The Lost Dinosaur Bone
Dinosaur Starts School
Curious George's Dinosaur Discovery
Dazzle the Dinosaur
The Mine-O-Saur

Thanks for all the great suggestions! Just wanted to remind those who haven't yet posted that nominations close June 13th.

Kathryn - I'm excited! I just LOVE this theme.

Just a couple more:

How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms?

How Do Dinosaurs Go To School?

I'm really excited about the "How Do Dinosaurs" series. Jane Yolen is such a great author but somehow I never really saw her style fitting with this sort of book so I'm super curious! I hope at least one of the "How Do Dinosaurs" books will win for the monthly selections but if not I'm definitely going to check some out on my own ;->

All three of these books are great and all for different reading levels.

Please VOTE for the five books you'd like the group to read in July :-)

My picks:

Danny and the Dinosaur

Drumheller Dinosaur Dance

Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon

My Visit to the Dinosaurs

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?

And, as a possible sixth choice:

Ten Terrible Dinosaurs

Here are my top five picks:

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

Danny and the Dinosaur

Curious George and the Dinosaur

Little Grunt and the Big Egg

Stone Girl, Bone Girl

Here's my selection:

Stone Girl, Bone Girl
Ten Terrible Dinosaurs
Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon


And then, just for information, this evening I've read some good reviews of two nonfiction books about dinos that I think people here might be interested in:
http://bookends.booklistonline.com/20...

I have read and loved!:

When Dinosaurs Came with Everything

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

My Dinosaur

on my to-read list:

Stone Girl, Bone Girl

looks good:

My Visit to the Dinosaurs

so, those are my 5, but, as usual, I'll read any book that are chosen, as long as I can borrow them from the library.

I would like to vote for all of them! But OK, here are my prioritized 5:

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?

When Dinosaurs Came with Everything

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

Curious George and the Dinosaur

Thunderfeet: Alaska's Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Critters

Curious George and the Dinosaur

Dinosaurumpus!

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?

Ten Terrible Dinosaurs

Dazzle the Dinosaur

A book not on the list but should be considered if you are doing a unit. Patrick's Dinosaurs by Carol Carrick. A fun read aloud. Kids love it!

JDesetti wrote: "A book not on the list but should be considered if you are doing a unit. Patrick's Dinosaurs by Carol Carrick. A fun read aloud. Kids love it!"

This book sounds excellent (thanks for mentioning it), but since it was not nominated, we cannot use it this time around. Usually, the picture book club works in the following way. People have a few weeks to nominate possible picture book choices for the topic featured, and then we individually vote for five favourites, and the five with the most votes win.

Thanks, Abigail, my computer hijacked me and posted eight times, and then did not let me delete it. Dial-up internet can be a real pain in the posterior at times.

Gundula wrote: "JDesetti wrote: "A book not on the list but should be considered if you are doing a unit. Patrick's Dinosaurs by Carol Carrick. A fun read aloud. Kids love it!"

This book sounds excellent (thanks..."


Not meant to be added to list but in case others, like me, use the lists to generate reading lists and possbile purchases for their libraries or to use with students for a unit. Thanks.

JDesetti wrote: "Gundula wrote: "JDesetti wrote: "A book not on the list but should be considered if you are doing a unit. Patrick's Dinosaurs by Carol Carrick. A fun read aloud. Kids love it!"

This book sounds e..."

Yeah, I checked the book's description, and I think it sounds wonderful. Here is a link to the book Patrick's Dinosaurs

JDesetti wrote: Not meant to be added to list but in case others, like me, use the lists to generate reading lists and possbile purchases for their libraries or to use with students for a unit. Thanks.

That's great, thank you! I am going to keep this thread open after voting closes in case people want to look back at the master list of books or read others along the theme that they'd like to talk about.

Yikes, I thought I'd voted, but I don't see it listed. In case the computer ate my votes, here they are:

Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp,

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?,

Digging Up Dinosaurs,

Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs,

and

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct.

I'm glad you were both able to re-post! I do hope everyone who wanted to vote has been able to--and double-checked that the votes are still listed here.

The winners are announced! Here is the list. I'm very excited. We ended up with a good variety of factual books and "fantastical" books. Also, a nice blend of newer titles and some "classics" Hooray!

Stone Girl, Bone Girl

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?

Danny and the Dinosaur


When Dinosaurs Came with Everything

Please note I broke the tie for "Danny and the Dinosaur" and "Curious George and the Dinosaur" since they are both such classics and then the votes for the Aliki books were divided between two so I went with this one for our optional sixth read:
My Visit to the Dinosaurs

Please click over to this thread to begin the discussion on the selected reads.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3...

I will keep this thread open if you decide to read any of the other books about dinosaurs that didn't win for our official club reads. I know there are a few from the list that looked really good to me but didn't win so I'll be checking them out and reporting back within the month, I hope :-)

Great list Kathryn!! I will read these books as soon as possible!!

Ronyell wrote: "Great list Kathryn!! I will read these books as soon as possible!!"

Yay!

I think you all nominated and chose wonderful selections. Thanks for helping the Picture Book Club running strong.

You're welcome!! Always happy to help! LOL!!!

I've read a few of the books beyond those chosen for the July theme:



Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp, by Carol Diggory Shields, illustrated by Scott Nash

My rating 3.5

Cute and rhythmic. The illustrations are bright and bold, and it sure looks like the dinos are having the party to end all parties. And the "to end all" is hinted at with clever rhyme, "The party went on - it was so outrageous, they stayed up well past the late Cretaceous." And the author goes on to say they're still sleeping, exhausted from all that partying. Somehow, not my favorite despite all the cuteness, but I imagine young children would love it. My favorite illustration was at the beginning and end, where the dancing footwork diagrams for dinos were laid out. I also liked the reference to Mama Maiasaur, "Maiasuar" meaning, roughly "good mother dinosaur".





Mine-o-Saur, by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, illustrated by David Clark

My rating 2.5

The story was effective in showing kids that in the long run, it's more fun to share. But I didn't really care for the illustrations at all, and moving back and forth from prose to rhyme made it seem like the author didn't really know what to do with it all.




Dinosaur Roar! by Paul and Henrietta Strickland

My rating 5.0

(Paul - illustrations. Henrietta - text)
This is such a cute book for very young children. It's all around the concept of opposites - roar and squeak, fierce and meek, fast and slow, above and below, etc. The illustrations are wonderful and show the concept of each opposite in an amusing and powerful way.




Dinosaur Train, written and illustrated by John Steven Gurney]

My rating 4.0
This is a very simple picture book, that tells a wonderful story about a boy's imagination becoming real. From drawings and toys about dinosaurs and trains, he travels on a real train where the passengers and conductor were all dinosaurs. The dinosaurs run into trouble along the way (off track), and the boy helps show them what to do (push the cars back on). Very nice!

Oh, FUN! I have a few that are also beyond those chosen for our selections and I am eager to read them. -- Am now thinking I will have to add some of these to the list ;->

Kathryn, this IS a very fun theme. I may yet check out even more from the general list. Looking forward to your comments on those that you read!

Once again my library surprised me by having some of the older books but not the newer. I am certainly looking forward to this theme and reading all of the comments.

I read one last night that absolutely BEGS to be read for the Dinosaurs theme The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins: An Illuminating History of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, Artist and Lecturer It is superb! It is about the guy who put together the first "full size" dinosaur sculptures for the Crystal Palace in London back in the 1850s. It is really amazing! Those dinosaurs were a lot of people's first exposure to what dinosaurs are (were) and created a lot of the enthusiasm for dinosaurs that is still, obviously, going strong today. The illustrations are by Brian Selznick who did the amazing "Invention of Hugo Cabret" Definitely worth checking out!

The Dinosaur Who Lived in My BackyardOkay, the last page is totally a hoot! Otherwise, I was just sort of so-so on this one. I think it's a fun idea—a little boy talks about the dinosaur who used to live in his backyard (millions of years ago!) and the imaginative illustrations show him comparing things then to now, like the dino being bigger than their house, etc. And, of course, he wishes the dinosaur still lived there today! (Yeah, I wanted dinosaurs when I was a kid, too!) This is from the '80s and I'm not sure it's aged well compared to some of the other dinosaur books out there today, but if your kid is really into dinos then it's certainly worth a look.

I just finished The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins: An Illuminating History of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, Artist and Lecturer. I'm sad it didn't make our official 6 books list. If you have the time and it's available, I highly recommend reading it. It' definitely for older kids. I'd say 9 + up for a full understanding, although younger kids might like parts of it.