Classic dinosaur books for children

A nameless (and seemingly parentless) boy and his dog dress up to go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. When they meet another trick-or-treater wearing a dinosaur costume, they invite him to join them and the three go door to door together. Bullies pull off their masks and steal their candy - but they're in for a surprise when they go after the new kid because he is a real dinosaur.A collection of three stories about Danny and his dinosaur, written by Syd Hoff.  These books can be found bound in a single book, or as separate titles: Danny and the Dinosaur, Happy Birthday Danny and the Dinosaur!, and Danny and the Dinosaur Go To Camp.The first story, Danny and the dinosaur, starts one day when Danny decides to go to the museum where he meets a live dinosaur. Danny and the dinosaur then leave the museum and go exploring around town and have many adventures before it is time for the dinosaur to return to the museum. In the second story, Happy Birthday Danny and the Dinosaur!, Danny goes back to the museum to invite the dinosaur to his birthday party. The dinosaur is glad to accept, and, as it turns out, today is his birthday too! In the third story, Danny and the Dinosaur Go To Camp, Danny takes the dinosaur with him to summer camp. Of course they have unusual adventures. This story tells about their first day at camp. -Amazon.com reviewer A bouncy, boisterous, colorfully illustrated story. Several prehistoric beasts are sitting down to enjoy their snacks at the Dinosaur Cafe when along comes Tyrannosaurus, who is not satisfied with gobbling and gulping up menus–he wants meat! Iguanadon sneaks away to phone Terry Triceratops for help. With cacophonous commotion, Terry and the other dinosaurs knock down, jump on, and tickle the bully until he leaves. Afterward, the victorious friends regale each other with battle tales. -School Library JournalView the list »
Bob the dinosaur is a friendly sort, who plays the trumpet, can scare off burglars, and loves to play baseball. But his playful antics result in trouble when the police arrest him for chasing cars with his dog friends and disturbing the peace. His baseball skills come to the rescue when he helps the Pimlico Pirates win their opening game. Bob is forgiven and joins the Lazardo family in a musical cookout celebration under the stars. The illustrations, more than the plot, are what will stick in readers' minds. Deep, rich colors and Bob's smooth, verdant hide add a sort of dreamy quality to the pictures, which complement the understated humor of the story. - Library School Journal

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Dinosaurs are fascinating animals for children's imaginations to grasp and run away with. They are real, but not real at the same time. Children know they are real because adults tell them that dinosaurs existed and we have bones and models to show them. The dinosaurs are fascinating because they look and behave very differently from people (some eat meat, others eat plants, some can fly, some have short arms and long legs, some swim, and they can be huge, or very small.)

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But since they do not live in this age, in their original form (either due to evolution or extinction), it frees the child from truly being afraid of these sometimes gigantic fearsome relics. Children's books with dinosaur themes, almost always centralize on a dinosaur becoming a child's friend or pet. Books that lack people and only show dinosaurs, put forth the idea that dinosaurs hurt other dinosaurs, not people. The dinosaurs are thus, real, but not real for children.

It can be difficult to assemble a collection of classic books on any topic, this writer has picked out dinosaur classics that are worthy of passing down to the next generation of children. Please be warned, several books are old enough that they are now out of print and may need to be purchased via ebay and other sources.

View the list
  • Bob the dinosaur is a friendly sort, who plays the trumpet, can scare off burglars, and loves to play baseball. But his playful antics result in trouble when the police arrest him for chasing cars with his dog friends and disturbing the peace. His baseball skills come to the rescue when he helps the Pimlico Pirates win their opening game. Bob is forgiven and joins the Lazardo family in a musical cookout celebration under the stars. The illustrations, more than the plot, are what will stick in readers' minds. Deep, rich colors and Bob's smooth, verdant hide add a sort of dreamy quality to the pictures, which complement the understated humor of the story. - Library School Journal
  • A bouncy, boisterous, colorfully illustrated story. Several prehistoric beasts are sitting down to enjoy their snacks at the Dinosaur Cafe when along comes Tyrannosaurus, who is not satisfied with gobbling and gulping up menus–he wants meat! Iguanadon sneaks away to phone Terry Triceratops for help. With cacophonous commotion, Terry and the other dinosaurs knock down, jump on, and tickle the bully until he leaves. Afterward, the victorious friends regale each other with battle tales. -School Library Journal
  • A collection of three stories about Danny and his dinosaur, written by Syd Hoff.  These books can be found bound in a single book, or as separate titles: Danny and the Dinosaur, Happy Birthday Danny and the Dinosaur!, and Danny and the Dinosaur Go To Camp.The first story, Danny and the dinosaur, starts one day when Danny decides to go to the museum where he meets a live dinosaur. Danny and the dinosaur then leave the museum and go exploring around town and have many adventures before it is time for the dinosaur to return to the museum. In the second story, Happy Birthday Danny and the Dinosaur!, Danny goes back to the museum to invite the dinosaur to his birthday party. The dinosaur is glad to accept, and, as it turns out, today is his birthday too! In the third story, Danny and the Dinosaur Go To Camp, Danny takes the dinosaur with him to summer camp. Of course they have unusual adventures. This story tells about their first day at camp. -Amazon.com reviewer 
  • A nameless (and seemingly parentless) boy and his dog dress up to go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. When they meet another trick-or-treater wearing a dinosaur costume, they invite him to join them and the three go door to door together. Bullies pull off their masks and steal their candy - but they're in for a surprise when they go after the new kid because he is a real dinosaur.
  • Katie is at the Natural History Museum. There she goes to the place all children aim for there - the dinosaurs. As there are no pictures to climb into, Mayhew invents an off limits room, where dinosaurs abound and Katie has an adventure in which she ends up giving her meat pie to a T Rex! Inventive, educational and excellent, as always.
  • Stanley isn't like any other cavemen. He makes friends with the animals instead of hunting them and thinks his cave is too cold and uncomfortable. None of the other cavemen understand him, but when Stanley discovers a new way of living in harmony with the environment he becomes a hero.
  • Tobias’s father is a lot like other fathers—he likes corny jokes, and doing magic tricks, and works really hard at the office. But there the resemblance ends.  He has teeth as sharp as steak knives, is forty feet high, and weighs as much as a locomotive.  He is, in fact, a tyrannosaurus. This funny and poignant story about a kid trying to get his dad to pay attention has a fabulous payoff, when Dad shows up and saves the day during a Field Day baseball game; when a tyrannosaurus decides to ump, no one dares disagrees with his calls!  - Amazon.com Review
  • This is a wonderfully imaginative artist-led picture book taking young children on a gently informative and enjoyable journey into prehistoric times. Beginning with a little boy wondering what real dinosaurs were like, the story transports readers into the prehistoric age. The tale follows a loveable stegosaurus, as he hatches from his egg and grows up, encountering a fearsome predator and then some gentle 'giants of the Jurassic'. The story ends imagining what dinosaurs would look like if they roamed the streets today, with a lovely evocative image of dinosaurs in a street scene - great fun and a good talking point for young children. Memorable, gently lyrical text gives a narrative touch to information for young children. It is attractively illustrated with Mandy Field's colourful paintings.blah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blah
  • Written in 1961, this is an older, harder to find book.  When the dinosaur comes to town, the animals run away, and you hear the clomp clomp of the heavy dinosaur.  When the dinosaur arrives, all's well.
  • George joins a school trip to the museum but his attention wanes when he visits the rock exhibits. George wanders off and finds a dinosaur skeleton in the next room. The temptation to climb to the top is too much for him and when George is found, everyone becomes curious about dinosaurs!
  • Spending the night away from home can be a daunting prospect and Dinosaur is so anxious that he invents many reasons as to why he can't go: his family will miss him, he won't have his toothbrush or his clean pyjamas, and he can't possibly sleep without his teddy! But his little boy helps Dinosaur overcome his fears, and together they discover just how much fun a sleepover can be. -Amazon.com
  • A restless baby dinosaur who can't go to bed without his (or her) security blanket in this charming large-trim board book. Her rhyming text cajoles the little creature to settle down: "Dinosaur O Dinosaur,/ you fuss and fret and yawn./ It's time to brush your dino teeth/ and put your p.j.'s on." A silver foil moon, red felt blanket and yellow felt "binkit" (no ordinary blanket, that) are among the touchable elements: in one of the most amusing flaps, the wail "I NEED MY BINKIT!" is emblazoned across the inside of Dinosaur's big, pink, tooth-lined mouth. The book is cute without being cloying, thanks to the authorial voice, which softens from stern to sympathetic, and the dino's comic desperation. This light, witty treatment of the eternal subjects of the "blanky" and the bedtime tantrum will make a welcome addition to the bedside bookshelf. And with its felt inserts, it's a book kids can really cozy up to. - Publisher's Weekly
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, Arlington Gardening Examiner

A gardener with an eye for unique plants that thrive in poor soils, hot summers and cold winters, and who loves to layer plants together based on their blooming season, bug repellant traits, and overall size. My thumb is a practiced green color.

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