Welcome to Dino Dad Reviews! For our first real blog post and first official review, I thought I’d start with an old family favorite in our household: “Dinosaur Roar!”, by Paul & Henrietta Stickland.
(For the video version of this review, click here!)
While I may be the one with the dinosaur obsession in my family, funnily enough my wife knew this book long before I did. A well-loved copy sat on the bookshelf in the Sunday School nursery of a church she once volunteered at, and she introduced it to me as soon as we had our first child.
It’s a cute, fun book of rhyming opposites; and most importantly for a parent who may be stuck with the same book multiple times in a row, it is very readable. Nothing makes me cringe more than when my child keeps asking for a book with really clunky writing, but the prose of “Dinosaur Roar!” rolls right off the tongue as easy as can be.
The book is meant mostly for the toddler crowd, and is not at all meant as an educational tome (except possibly to help learn about opposites). Consequently, the dinosaurs are a rendered in a cute, cartoony style not meant to convey its subjects in any realistic way. I noted a Stegosaurus and a Triceratops, but otherwise most of the dinosaurs don’t appear to represent any specific species in particular. All the theropods DO keep their tails lifted well off the ground, though! Dinosaur books at this reading level tend to get this wrong altogether too often.
All in all, “Dinosaur Roar” is short and sweet, and hits all the right notes for the type of book it wants to be. The writing flows with a pleasant rhyme and rhythm, the illustrations are fun, and is just the right length for its demographic. If you are looking to buy this for a child in your life, I guarantee the both of you will love it together!
I wholeheartedly give this book the official Dino Dad Stomp of Approval!
Check back soon for our next review!
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