What five year-old hasn't dreamed of having a pet that is equal parts rare, fun, and as tall as buildings? If you know a little one who fancies dinosaurs, this book is a must read! Danny and the Dinosaur is intended to be read with the help and assistance of a parent or caregiver. Syd Hoff , a cartoonist for The New Yorker, created this cartoon in 1958, so grandparents may remember Danny and his dinosaur friend from their own childhoods. With short sentences, large print, familiar words, and concepts your five year-old can understand, this is an excellent beginner reader book. The repetition of some words throughout parts of the story will help your child begin to recognize those words in print. For example, when Danny went to the museum, "He saw Indians. He saw bears. He saw Eskimos. He saw guns. He saw swords. He saw..."
Both Danny and the dinosaur have many lines in the book, so you can add fun by getting creative with your voice for the different character lines. No one really knows what a dinosaur voice sounds like, so you are only limited by your imagination and theatrical abilities. Simple drawings against an all-white background highlights the story, but leaves room for the readers' imagination to fill in the. The story also has themes and lessons that you can point out and discuss with your child. The overall theme is friendship, which is always a popular topic with little ones. You can ask them to share stories about their own friends - dinosaur or human. The story also demonstrates a healthy example of sympathy; Danny and his friends agree to pretend not to see the dinosaur right away when they are playing hide-and-go-seek so that the game will be fun for the dinosaur as well. Finally, blended throughout the story is humor a five year-old can understand, like when the policeman was shocked because, "He had never seen a dinosaur stop for a red light," or when the dinosaur starts 'honking' like a car.
I was very excited while reading this book to my niece Emily, who just turned five, because I remembered with each page what it felt like to have my mom read it to me when I was five. I found myself watching for the same reactions I remembered having, but it was even more fun to see how Emily saw the story differently than I had. She got excited about different pages, pictures and sentences. When we read the page about the dinosaur having to be careful not to knock things over with his big tail, Emily giggled and said, "Just like Charley and Oscar!" (her family's dogs).
--Audra