The Best Books About Dinosaurs For Kids
It’s hard not to find a kid who isn’t fascinated by dinosaurs. Most of us are totally intrigued by these creatures that once roamed the planet. So, it’s only natural to want to find the best books about dinosaurs to read with your young children that encourage learning more about these strange beasts with gigantic roars.
As a homeschooling family, we read lots and lots of books. As a matter of fact, literature is one of the main tools we use to learn in all of our subject areas. From history to science, art and music, we use books as the foundation of our learning.
Dinosaurs are one of those topics that is intriguing to children no matter their age. From toddlers to high schoolers, there is so much information to study on these prehistoric animals.
The list below highlights some of the best dinosaur books for children ages 3-9. These range from a picture book to graphic novels to a dinosaur encyclopedia and even books with Biblical worldviews, ensuring that there is something for all interests!
Let’s take a look at some of the popular choices for the dinosaur enthusiast in your family:
The Best Books About Dinosaurs for Preschoolers
I’m a Dirty Dinosaur by Janeen Brian and Ann James
Dinosaur Dinosaur Say Good Night by Tiger Tales and Sanja Rescek
How to Catch a Dinosaur by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton
My First Touch and Feel Sound Book: Noisy Dinosaurs by Jonathan Litton
Dinosaur Dinosaur Had a Farm by Danielle McLean and Sanja Rescek
Dinosaur Dinosaur Fall is Here by Danielle McLean and Sanja Rescek
If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur by Linda Bailey and Colin Jack
Little Dinosaur (Ten Minutes to Bed) by Rhiannon Fielding and Chris Chatterton
Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug by Jonathan Stutzman and Jay Fleck
Never Let a Dinosaur Scribble by Diane Alber
The Best Science Books About Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Life (DK Children’s Anthologies) by Professor Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs by Catherine D. Hughes
My Encyclopedia of Very Important Dinosaurs
National Geographic 1000 Facts About Dinosaurs, Fossils, and Prehistoric Life by Patricia Daniels
Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning by Linda Skeers and Marta Álvarez Miguéns
Everything You Need to Know About Dinosaurs by DK and John Woodward
Curious About Fossils by Kate Waters
ABC’s of Dinosaur by Sienna Nightingale, Cottage Door Press, et al
Graphic Novels About Dinosaurs
Magic Treehouse Dinosaurs Before Dark– Graphic Novel by Jenny Laird and Mary Pope Osborne
Science Comics: Dinosaurs: Fossils and Feathers by MK Reed
The Best Books About Dinosaurs with a Biblical Worldview
Dinosaurs of Eden by Ken Ham
Dinosaur Devotions: 75 Dino Discoveries, Bible Truths, Fun Facts, and More! by Michelle Medlock Adams and Denise Turu
The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible by Paul S. Taylor
Dinosaurs for Little Kids: Where did they go? by Ken Ham and Bill Looney
Homeschool Unit Studies About Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs are a popular theme for unit studies, and for good reason!
A unit study is a short learning period where you are focusing on one specific topic. These studies typically last around 4-8 weeks and involve a number of subjects all wrapped around one topic.
For instance, a dinosaur unit study would include studying history through timelines, writing stories about dinosaurs, reading books on the topic, studying habitats or creating your own digging-for-fossils experiment. Math would be covered through dinosaur word problems or using dinosaur toys to teach counting. Countless dinosaur art projects could be accomplished in that time frame as well. As you can see, all of the subjects can be covered, and they all surround the one topic of dinosaurs.
Unit studies are available from a number of different sources around the Internet or social media. Or, you can always create your own that is tailored to your child’s unique interests. Either way, unit studies are a great way to deep dive into a topic that you want to learn in depth. And, unit studies are typically built around the foundation of great literature.
Young readers love to hear stories about these prehistoric creatures and soak up all the interesting facts about the age of dinosaurs. Children fascinate over dinosaur fossils, theories on the fall of the dinosaurs, and of course, choosing their own favorite dinosaurs!
Creating your own free unit study about dinosaurs is simple enough!
Just follow these steps to create your own engaging and fun unit study for your homeschoolers:
- Choose some of the best books about dinosaurs listed above and read aloud your favorites.
- Watch a documentary or YouTube videos about specific dinosaurs, or choose your child’s favorite to investigate more deeply.
- Visit a natural history museum where you can go digging for some old bones! Your kids will love this and enjoy pretending to be a paleontologist.
- Write your own stories about different dinosaurs. Give your child a few prompts to choose from, and have them write their own story or tell a story aloud to you. Read back through the story together, encouraging them to add more details when necessary.
- Do a quick search for dinosaur crafts or activities to do with kids. You can find all sorts of things on this topic on Pinterest!
Don’t have time to create your own dinosaur unit study?
It’s okay if you don’t have the time or feel like you aren’t sure how to create your own unit study! You can still enjoy all the benefits of a unit study, but it’s all planned out for you. There are some really great ones already available on the market. And, most of these options are super affordable and give you weeks worth of learning.
From activities to book lists to educational videos and websites, these open-and-go unit studies make it super easy to accomplish a successful educational experience. The best part is, you can reuse these guides throughout multiple years by simplifying them for younger learners and adding more as your child progresses through grade levels. If you are wanting a pre-made curriculum that is laid out for you, here are a few favorites about dinosaurs:
Gather Round Homeschool: Dinosaurs Digital Bundle
Homeschool In A Box: Dinosaur Digital Unit Study
The Good and The Beautiful: Paleontology
Why is reading some of the best books about dinosaurs important for our homeschool?
Reading a variety of stories about this topic gives our children a glimpse into the history of dinosaurs in a fun, engaging way. Many of the facts we retain in our memories are told to us in story form. Children can learn so much about not only the tyrannosaurus rex, but also about important topics such as habitat, extinction, and the ever-changing world.
“What was the last dinosaur to walk the Earth?”
“What theories are there about the cause of extinction?”
“Do we align more strongly with one theory over another?”
“Let’s be scientists and make our own hypothesis!”
As you can see, there are so many possible ways to expand your child’s critical thinking skills just by learning about dinosaurs together. And, it all starts with choosing the best books about dinosaurs that we can find and reading them with our children.
As homeschooling parents, it is our job to introduce our children to a wide range of subjects, and choosing one that is already of interest to them makes it so much more enjoyable!
One of my young girls is going through a dinosaur-obsessed phase, and we have both learned so much by picking up a few books about dinosaurs and reading together as often as possible!
Now you can, too!
Want your child to read more but it’s a struggle?
Head over to How to Help a 1st Grader Struggling with Reading to get some tips for teaching your young learner to read! Once your child is reading more fluently, a whole new world of possibility opens up for them. There are also some great tips on that post for choosing and planning curriculum, plus a free curriculum planning guide!
By introducing topics and books that our children are naturally drawn to and curious about, you will nurture a love of reading in time. Young readers still enjoy hearing you read aloud to them, and they are learning so much from you as you do that! So, even if getting your child to read on his or her own is a struggle right now, keep reading aloud to them. Eventually, you will see things “click” for your child and they will be independently and fluently reading on their own.
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