Teachable Moment: Terrible Lizards are Animals Too !

Teachable Moment:

Celebrate Dinosaur Day, May 15 !

Presentation by Emily of YarnMiracle

incl. a Reading List from her bookshelves

Personalized Sweater for

your Organic Toy Companion from YarnMiracle

The word 'dinosaur' covers a diverse group of creatures. Some walked on two legs, some on four, some did both. Herbivores, carnivores, giants, person-size and smaller. Egg layers, nest builders, warm blooded or cold, loners, herd dwellers with potentially complex social structures - and all completely extinct.

Bedrock Dog Collar from hollywoofstyles

Scientists have identified more than 1,000 different species of dinosaurs that are non-avian. Birds were evolving at the same time and are considered in their own category. Since dinosaurs populated the earth for 160 million years 2,300 years ago (give or take), humans have been finding evidence of their existence for thousands of years. The Greeks and Romans thought dinosaur bones they found belonged to Ogres and Giants, and there is a reference to a Dragon skeleton that was found in China over 2,000 years ago.

Fossil Ichthyosaur Thread Painting from thefrogbag

With so much mystery and diversity, is there any wonder that these creatures have captured human imagination and attention? Dinosaurs star in films, television shows and hundreds and hundreds of books. Preschoolers all over the world are notoriously dinosaur crazy - this is reflected in the number of picture books written just of them on the subject of Terrible Lizards. I've got a small selection of my favorite dino fiction for you below.

If I've left out YOUR favorite, please share with us in the comments!

Personalized Dino Bag by ekneverfeltbetter

Picture Books

• Dinosaur's Binket by Sandra Boynton Dinosaur's bedtime routine is not complete until he has Binkit! The role of Binkit is played by a fuzzy piece of felt in this lift the flap board book. (Other Boynton titles include "Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs.")


• How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen This is one in a series, my favorite is the one about how dinosaurs eat their food.


• Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems Edwina was perfectly happy baking cookies for everyone in her town until the day Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie (town know-it-all) decided to explain things.


• The Day Dinosaurs Came With Everything by Elise Broach The sign at the donut shop reads "Buy a Dozen, get a dinosaur." It's all downhill from there.

Dinosaur Nesting Doll Eggs from SavageArtworks

Early Readers

• Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff One of the dinosaurs at the museum comes to life and spends the day with Danny. The dinosaur returns in the book's sequels to celebrate Danny's birthday and attend summer camp.


• Rex Stone and David Merrell (Magic Tree House) have a new series in Dinosaur Cove Two kids find a secret entrance to a prehistoric world! Unlikely? Probably. But the science and adventure probably make up for it!


• James Skofield writes Detective Dinosaur The Dinosaur detective solves pleasantly silly and uncomplicated mysteries.

The Nose Flute by fenrislorsrai

For More Grown-Up Dinosaur Lovers

• Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton I could have told them that a theme park filled with dinosaurs grown from DNA was a terrible idea. But nobody asked me. If you haven't had enough there is always the sequel: Lost World.


• The real The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle This tale of terror and adventure was written shortly after the dinosaurs entered the public eye. A trip into the Amazon rainforest is the setting for prehistoric encounters.


• The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Bourroughs Another classic (1924). A bunch of adventurers lands on an island in the South Pacific that is populated with dinosaurs and other unlikely wild things. They make their way across the island in grand adventurer syle with the help of a jungle princess.


• Don't forget Godzilla

Happy Dinosaur Day to all &

please share with peeps large & small !