How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight - Jane Yolen > Reviews > Do You Pout When You Go To Bed?

Author's product rating:   

Would you listen to it again?	Absolutely
Story	Outstanding
Characters	Good
Listenability	Once you start it, you won't be able to switch it off!

Advantages:	Great rhymes and teaches children how to behave well
Disadvantages:	none

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

***Background***

Jane Yolen writes many different types of books including science fiction and fantasy. She also writes books for children and this is one in her series of rhyming Dinosaur books that we found for a bargain price.

Mark Teague illustrates his own picture books as well as all the illustrations in this series of books.

***The Story***

"How does a dinosaur say goodnight
when Papa comes in to turn off the light?

Does a dinosaur slam his tail and pout?
Does he throw his teddy bear all about?"

As we turn each page we see lots of bad dinosaurs misbehaving at bedtime and we are asked if he would moan and cry to try to get out of going to bed when Mama takes him too.

As we near the end we find out that good dinosaurs don't act up like this at all, but that they are good to their parents and do as they are told.

"They give a big kiss.
They turn out the light.
They tuck in their tails.
They whisper, 'Good night.'
They give a big hug and then one kiss more.
Good night. Good night, little dinosaur."

***The Illustrations***

The illustrations in this book are very funny, as we see each dinosaur doing something that it shouldn't. They are brightly coloured and drawn in great detail with names of the different dinosaurs printed at the start of the book The writing is bold and black and stands out well for young readers.

***My Thoughts***

I'm sure most parents will have found themselves in a situation at one time or another when their little darling just won't do as he is told at bedtime. I know I certainly have and we went through some terrible tantrums when my son was much younger so this book would have been a great help to show him how he should have behaved.

Unfortunately by the time we discovered it, he had grown out of all that although there are occasions when he still plays up a little bit and tries to convince us that one story more wouldn't be so bad.

The best thing about this book is that it is done in a way that children will find amusing but will see that it's really better for them to behave. The clever rhymes and lovely artwork in this book make it really good fun to read at bedtime and for a child that is fascinated with dinosaurs then any of the books in this series are sure to go down well.

My son is reading by himself now and manages this book on his own although he does still enjoy being read to at bedtime sometimes so this one is excellent to read together. From the time he was small, bedtime reading has always been important and rhyming books gave him the opportunity to contribute, as he had an amazing ability for remembering the last word on each rhyming line. I think that this has helped with his reading in general and any book that makes learning fun is a bonus in my opinion.

I also think that it's a great idea to have the names of the dinosaurs at the front of the book because children seem to have a fascination with them and some parents might not remember them all, especially the more obscure ones like Corythosaurus and Trachodon. It's not just the more unusual ones that feature in the book though, as we have the big T-Rex and the popular Stegosaurus in there too.

This series of books is fantastic and each one shows children the right and wrong ways to behave. The pleasure on the parents' faces when they do the right thing help children to see that they can make their own parents happy by being good and this is something that we are always careful to point out.

I would recommend this book for anyone with small children whether they behave or not at bedtime because it has beautiful pictures and is fantastically fun to read.

***Other Dinosaur Books***

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?
How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms?
How Do Dinosaurs Count To Ten?
How Do Dinosaurs Learn To Read?

***Price and Availability***

This large paperback book is priced at £5.99 but we were surprised to see it available in Poundstretcher for only £1 before Christmas. Not sure if your local one will stock it though but it's worth a look. Otherwise you can find it from Tesco for £4.49.

ISBN No. 1845614669