Dinosaur Babies (Step-into-Reading: A Step 2 Book)

I liked this book because it wasn't too detailed but gave a baseline of simple information for young kids learning/reading about dinosaurs. It was an easy read for beginners and had illustrations that were easily identifiable. I also liked how with each picture of a new dinosaur, the book gave the name and in parenthesis the pronunciation of each animal. It helped add to the informational side of the text. The message of this book was to help give children a baseline understanding of dinosaurs, how they raise their babies, and a brief example of different types of dinosaurs. This book is historical fiction and does include parts that show that there is no certainty of if it is correct or not seeing as how no one lived with dinosaurs. show more The book starts off with the lines "Squeak! Squeak! Is that the sound of a baby dinosaur calling to its mother? Nobody knows. Nobody has ever heard a baby dinosaur. Nobody has ever seen one." From then it describes how finding fossils and different artifacts has taught us the things we know about dinosaurs today. show less

I enjoyed this book because it focuses on characteristics and behavior of baby dinosaurs. The concepts discussed are informational and the illustrations that are evident add to a great book in the sense that they give relevance to the reader's personal experiences or life itself. For example, when the author mentions dinosaur eggs, he exclaims, "The smallest was only as big as a quarter." The illustrator drew a quarter and a dinosaur egg side by side as a way of connecting to the author's words. He did the same with a football and a bigger egg when the author wrote, "The biggest was about the size of a football!" These realistic visuals allow the reader to grasp the significance of the message being portrayed by relating the quarter and show more football to personal encounters. Another aspect of the book I enjoy is how the author puts the dinosaur name, along with the pronunciation, beside the illustrations of each type of dinosaur. Some examples are "Tyrannosaurus (tie-RAN-uh-SOR-us)" and "Deinonychus (die-NON-ee-kus)." This is helpful when understanding the importance of each dinosaur simply because knowing the names of them is useful. Readers can also make connections and/or point out similarities and differences of the dinosaurs. Overall, the informational aspect of this book is beneficial in a way that engages readers through its illustrations and word choice. show less

Little Kid Reaction: My boys LOVED this book. They loved learning about dinosaurs, babies and adults alike. My 6 year old worked through the pages with some help.

Big Kid Reaction: I loved the book and was impressed at how it simplified dinosaur facts to a level an early reader. The content was engaging and interesting, NOT dumbed down. Great illustrations round out this book as a must-have for early readers who are open to dinosaur lore! For the most adventurous, the illustrations are labeled with the names of the dinosaurs -- why not give them a try? At a minimum, the adult can say them for the kids who are interested in what each dinosaur is.

Pros: Fantastic illustrations and wonderful vocabulary combine in this book with a great theme show more for an early reader.

To read our full review, go to The Reading Tub®. show less

This beginner reading book takes the reader on a journey back in time to visit the dinosaurs. This book gives information about the adult dinosaurs as well as the many stages of development of young dinosaurs and how they are similar to animals that around today. After reading this book a child should be able to know the names of and recognize the different types of dinosaurs.

This book is a great building block for a child to learn to read and understand literature. I thought the illistrations were very real and well done. The child would easily be able to infer what the words were saying by the pictures if they weren’t sure what the page itself said. The orginaztion was very good to the audience that it was aimed for. The words were show more very easy to locate and read.

A really cool idea would be having your class hatch their own dinosaur babies. They used to make these eggs that if you put them in the water they eventually turned into little tiny dinosaurs. I don’t know if they still make those but doing something along with this book in a lesson would be a perfect combination. show less

I got this for a 2 1/2 year old, but was uncomfortable reading to him about the dangers baby dinosaurs faced, even though the book also explained how they were kept safe by grownup dinosaurs.

A glimpse into the relationship between a father and son as they go on a fishing trip before dawn to secure food for the day.

Scientific information on dinosaurs, for children who recognize familiar words and sound out new words with help.