What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night

What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night
by Refe and Susan Tuma

Strange things are happening all over the world. By night, plastic dinosaurs are creeping out of their toy boxes, shaking off their polite demeanors, and getting up to mischief.

No one knows how long this has been going on, but in 2012 Refe and Susan Tuma first noticed and started documenting online the shenanigans that their herd of plastic dinos were getting up to. By the autumn of 2013, reports were coming in from all over the world. Dinovember had arrived and cheeky plastic dinos were taking the world by storm.

By the 2014 launch of Refe and Susan Tuma's What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night, children all over the world were waking up each day in November to see what mischief had been wrought during the night. Facebook feeds and Pinterest boards were deluged with dinotastic destruction. One couldn't go on social media without seeing a T. rex stealing Halloween candy, a diplodicus devastating a birthday cake, or a triceratops tangled up in toilet paper, all aggregated under the tag #Dinovember.

What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night is an excellent way to bring a bit of wonder, mystery, and joy to your child during the late autumn. This book will give you lots of inspiration for what your herd of naughty raptors can get up to next November.

What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night
by Refe and Susan Tuma

Boy + Bot

Boy + Bot

by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

One day, a boy and a robot meet in a forest, while each is exploring. They immediately become friends and start playing.

When the robot is accidentally switched off, the boy becomes deeply concerned and tries everything he can think of to save his sick friend. When nothing works, the boy tucks the robot into bed and hopes for the best.

Late that night, the robot turns back on. Startled to find the boy asleep,  everything he can think of to save his malfunctioning friend. He's just about to replace the boy's battery (!!!) when the boy wakes up.

In the end, all is sorted out and the boy's parents and robot's inventor allows them to play together. The boy even learns to talk like a robot.

Ame Dyckman's light prose is well paired with Dan Yaccarino's bright and cheerful illustrations. This is an excellent book for any aspiring roboticist. Affirmative!

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

I Know a Rhino

I Know a Rhino

by Charles Fuge

Have you ever taken a bath with a giraffe? Played doctor with a dragon? Brunched with a bear? Rocked out with an orangutan? The female lead in I Know a Rhino is a little girl with a big imagination. She brings her stuffed animal friends along in all of her imaginative adventures.

Charles Fuge's luscious illustrations in I Know a Rhino made this Yuri's favorite board book from infancy. The text flows nicely, with well-formed rhymes and a good pace. You will quickly be able to read this book with your eyes closed (which is quite handy with a cranky child who's up all night long).

As an added bonus, this is a great book to start working on scientific names of animals (if you're so inclined). A close reader might notice that the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) on the cover seems to become an Indian rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) on the final page.

I Know a Rhino by Charles Fuge