Dear Dinosaur

 

Chae Strathie, Nicola O’Byrne (illus)
Scholastic
Age 3-7

Max loves dinosaurs and is delighted to visit the dinosaur museum. One of the staff, Dinosaur Dora tells him that he can send questions to Tyrannosaurus Rex who might even answer them. Amazingly, this is what happens and in no time a correspondence develops, with letters, postcards, a birthday card and even an email. Max and the T-Rex become ‘dinopals’.

Dear Dinosaur is great fun and very interactive with lots of letters and cards to open. Real dinosaur facts are cleverly incorporated in this highly imaginative and amusing story.

 

Share the story

Read aloud
Read the story aloud to your child, reading the words in bold louder and pointing one or two of these out as you do. Children can help by opening the letters and cards. Pause to talk about the story or illustrations if your child wants to.

Join in
As children become more familiar with the book, encourage children to join in with the words in bold and also what the characters say to each other.

Talk about the story

Max’s favourite dinosaur is a T-Rex. Which is your child’s favourite, and why?

Find the dinosaur facts in the story eg the size of a T-Rex or its teeth. What else do you both know? What would your child like ask a dinosaur?

See links below to help find answers to children’s questions.

If you have been to a dinosaur museum or display talk about what your child remembers about the visit.

If Max is a ‘Maxosaurus’ what would your child or other members of your family be called if they were dinosaurs? Have fun talking about this.

Does your child think Dinosaur Dora is writing the letters or is it really the T-Rex?

Things to make and do

Did you Know?
Children could make a set of dinosaur ‘did you know?’ cards. Using facts from the story and from more things you find out about, T-Rex, Compsognathus or any other dinosaur (see links below). They could try out their cards on members of the family or friends.

Make a dinosaur museum
Arrange toy dinosaurs if you have them as if they are on show in a museum. Alternatively children could make some from modelling material.  Add labels for each ‘exhibit’.

See Natural History Museum Dinosaur section and the New York Natural History Museum Dinotour

Design a funny dinosaur
Max drew a picture of a sausageosaurus. Children could draw their own funny dinosaur, and think up a name for it.

 

Find out more

Find out more about the Compsognathus

Find out more about the Tyrranosaurus Rex

For more information on dinosaurs see here

Read Gorilla Loves Vanilla, another story by this picturebook duo

Find out more about author Chae Strathie here 

Find out more about illustrator Nicola O’Byrne

Titles include Open Very Carefully, a book with bite

 

Buy here