Dinosaur Picture Books Worth Reading Aloud

Few things capture young readers like dinosaurs. They are huge, they are real, and they have wonderful names to sound out. The best dinosaur picture books manage something harder too: they still sound good to the grown-up reading them aloud for the fiftieth time.

For bedtime

• How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague (2000). Enormous dinosaurs in ordinary bedrooms try every bedtime stalling trick before learning to settle down. The rhyme is gentle and the pictures are full of little jokes. The series continues with titles about eating, getting well and going to school.
• Dinosaur Roar! by Paul and Henrietta Stickland (1994). A book of opposites for the youngest listeners: dinosaurs that are fierce or meek, fast or slow, spiky or lumpy. Short enough for toddlers.

For stomping and joining in

• Dinosaurumpus! by Tony Mitton, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees (2002). A swamp-side dinosaur dance party with a refrain children love to shout along with. Ideal before bath time rather than after.
• Tyrannosaurus Drip by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by David Roberts (2007). A duck-billed dinosaur hatched into the wrong family has to outwit the meat-eaters. Donaldson's rhythm makes it a joy to read aloud.

Classics and early readers

• Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff (1958). A boy and a museum dinosaur spend a day out in the city. Simple sentences make it a favourite first book for children starting to read on their own.
• Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs by Ian Whybrow, illustrated by Adrian Reynolds (1999). A boy finds a box of old plastic dinosaurs in the attic and they become his constant companions. Lovely for children who carry toys everywhere.
• If the Dinosaurs Came Back by Bernard Most (1978). A boy imagines all the useful jobs dinosaurs could do. Short, funny and good for sparking a drawing session afterwards.

For the budding palaeontologist

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Brian Selznick (2001), tells the true story of the Victorian artist who built life-sized dinosaur models for London's Crystal Palace park. It won a Caldecott Honor and works best for children of about six and up who ask how we know what dinosaurs looked like.

Making read-aloud time work

Let your child choose the book, even if it is the same one every night; repetition builds vocabulary and confidence. Pause before the last word of a rhyme and let them fill it in. Ask questions about the pictures. And when a dinosaur roars, do the voice. Nobody is judging.