Story time is the best time of the day. Whether we're snuggled up on the couch or cozy in our pjs before bed, reading stories with my little ones is one of my favorite things to do. Everyone has a favorite book they remember from their childhood, and every day, parents and kids are discovering new classics of their own. There are many fabulous children's books out there, some of which everyone knows about and others we would have never discovered had my son not simply pulled a random book off a library shelf. I created this blog to share some of these wonderful stories with you. Think of it as a year's worth of the best children's books around, since no day should be without a great story. In the end, I hope we'll all have discovered at least a few new titles that will have made their way onto our list of family favorites. Enjoy!







Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Day 198: How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends?

As I read this book for the umpteenth time with my daughter last night, I realized that I should probably write about it and share it with you here.  I also got to thinking about how much I love putting a little book in each of my kids' Easter baskets, and that the board books in these series would be perfect for anyone looking for a great non-sugar basket stuffer.  I just love the sturdiness and convenience of board books such as this one, which are always perfect for stuffing in a diaper bag or purse when we're on the go. But back to why we love this book...

We have many of the books in the "How Do Dinosaurs" series (again, thanks to our ever-generous Uncle Jeff), but this is one of our favorites.  It lives in a permanent pile on the little table next to our reading chair in my daughter's room, along with How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Dogs?, How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms?, Jamberry, and whichever Sandra Boynton book happens to be our favorite at the moment.  Our first experience with this series was the original How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, which, given my son's infatuation with dinosaurs, was an instant hit.  My 2.5 year old daughter loves these books, as well, and I always love:

1) How short they are.  They offer the perfect solution to the nightly requests for "Just one more story... please!" because they take less than a minute to read;

2) The cute little messages within each story to which my kids can always relate; and

3) The variety of dinosaurs featured in each book, along with the fact that their names appear somewhere on the page

The only down side to the board book versions is that they don't have the spreads on the inside cover featuring illustrations of all of the dinosaurs in the book, but the small, handy size more than makes up for that for me.  This particular story is especially perfect for any little ones who might be struggling to learn to share and play nicely with their friends.  I like the way the story demonstrates the wrong way to play (always prompting my daughter to say, "No!"), followed by the nice way.  When a dinosaur's friends come over to play, "Does he hog all the swings and the sandbox and slides?  Does he not give his friends any tricycle rides?"  No, a dinosaur doesn't!  "He shares all his toys and gives turns on his bike.  His friends get first choice for the games that they like."  It's a fun, quick, enjoyable read that my kids and I love.  If you haven't yet discovered this wonderful series by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague, look for it the next time you are at your library.  We hope you and your little reader will love it as much as we do!

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