Day 152: Flip-O-Saurus

My son is fascinated by dinosaurs. He seriously can not get enough of them.  He has memorized his DK My First Dinosaurs board book, loves reading from the National Geographic Dinopedia on the iPad, and can tell us about (and correctly pronounce) all kinds of dinosaurs that I never even knew existed.  Sure, I remember the classics like T-Rex, Stegosaurus, and Triceratops, but I've never heard of some of his favorites like the Archaeopteryx or the Deinonychus.  (And as it turns out, there is no such thing as a Brontosaurus anymore because it was really just an Apatosaurus.)  I've really enjoyed learning more about these amazing creatures with (and from) my little guy.  He still loves trucks and animals, of course, but anything with dinosaurs grabs his attention right away now, too.

When we were at the library for story time last week, a friend found this book on the shelf and handed it to me to bring home for W.  She knew he would love it, and boy was she right!  One look and it was an instant hit.  Let me tell you, if your child likes dinosaurs, Flip-O-Saurus is a must read.  Here's what is so awesome about it:

Flip-o-Saurus features ten different dinosaurs with fun facts and information about what they ate, how big they were, and how some of their unique features helped them defend themselves.  This information is broken up into three parts on the page (generally, about its head and features, body size, and tail functions and features) that corresponds with a big illustration of each dinosaur.  Not sure how to pronounce those tricky names?  Not to worry.  The inside cover features a chart showing each dinosaur's name, pronunciation (phew!), meaning, and size relative to a human being.  Very cool.

The best thing about this book, of course, is suggested in its name.  Since each page of this large board book format is divided into three parts, you can flip each section as you choose to make hundreds of your own dinosaur creations, such as an Ichsaurex, Tyrannothyotor, or a Diplorapcephalus!  W loves making up all kinds of silly looking dinosaurs, and we can even read about what they might be like based on the accompanying text.  One of my other favorite things is listening to him sound out each one -- such a fun and interactive way for early readers to practice their phonics.

Needless to say, my little paleontologist absolutely loves this book (and it has been added to our ever-growing must-own-someday list.)  The author/illustrator pair of Britta Drehen and Sara Ball has also created a Flip-a-Storic, featuring 10 different prehistoric creatures.  If your little one loves learning about dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, you've simply got to check these out.  

Curious about some of our other favorite dinosaur books?  Look for Jane Yolen's How Do Dinosaurs... series or the foot-stomping Dinosaurumpus!