I Dreamt I Was a Dinosaur

A rhyming narrative and illustrations created using appliqué techniques take young children back to the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The rhyming couplets are not subtle and of the ‘fun’ ‘run’ and ‘him’ ‘swim’ type. But I know from experience that young children like the sort of verses they can easily join in with, and here the pictures communicate some more subtle information. And what fabulous, ingenious pictures they are! Shiny buttons and sequins pattern the dinosaurs’ backs, crests and tails and stand out against the mat surfaces of colourful felts. Silky fringes make luscious looking leaves, lace makes exotic flower stems and butterfly wings, and satin braids become textured, prehistoric tree trunks. Nursery and Reception class teachers could use all this for inspiration towards the children’s own appliqué frieze.

The end notes provide good quality information for the sharing adult, and include welcome speculation about the colours of the creatures and about their seeming sudden disappearance. I very much like the annotated picture summary which gives help with pronunciation as well as core facts about each dinosaur type.