I don't often find books with mysteries in them for young children, so I was intrigued by this one. It was especially fun that the children were hunting a dinosaur!
Sally and
Joe are convinced that the mysterious footprints they have discovered must
belong to a dinosaur! Could it be? Join them as they follow the clues to find
out…but wait -- what if Sally and Joe are right? What if it really is a
dinosaur?
Never Follow a Dinosaur was written and illustrated by Alex Latimer.
It was published in 2016 by Peachtree Publishers.
Opening:
“One
afternoon, Joe and his sister Sally spotted a strange set of footprints.”
My Thoughts as a Writer:
This
cumulative story was a bit different than others that I’ve read since each time
a new description of the dinosaur was added. I loved the idea of building on
clues through the story.
The
illustrations were fun! I really liked the way their imagined dinosaur changed
as they found more clues and made more guesses.
My Thoughts as a Teacher:
The clear
illustrations make this a nice book for reading aloud to a group. I really
liked the clues and how the book modeled that knowing more changed their ideas
about what the dinosaur might be like. I also really liked the plans they drew
for their trap. It’s a good book for making inferences.
Ages: 5 - 8
Grades: K - 3
Themes: dinosaurs, mysteries, clues,
Activities:
Make a list
of the clues Joe and Sally found when hunting for the dinosaur. Is there
another explanation?
Draw your
own plan for a dinosaur trap. Label the key features that will help catch a
dinosaur.
I will definitely be looking for this one. (I just checked at it's at my local library branch. Hooray!) I write a lot of mysteries and have been experimenting in this genre for younger and younger readers. Thanks for introducing me to this book!
ReplyDeleteI like how the dinosaur changes with each new clue the children discover. This sounds like a fun book to discuss with children. "Based on this clue Sally and Joe found, what do you think the dinosaur will look like now?" Yes, I can see I need to check this book out. Thanks for a great review.
ReplyDeleteGreat classroom book, as you have noted, with lots of good follow up activities possible. Fun!
ReplyDeleteAndrea, thanks. Can't wait to get a look at this. Possible mentor text. :-) It reminds me of the original paleontologists who had some of the first skeletons totally pieced together wrong. Even with their "best" guesses. Nice addition to my library.
ReplyDelete