Knock Knock Dinosaur by Caryl Heart
Illustrations by Nick East
Published by Hachette Australia
(Imprint – Hodder Children’s Books_
Date: 30 May 2017 (Paperback)
I love this book…what can I say it is just every little bit of perfection that you could imagine when it comes to a picture book. As I read it out loud to myself, practicing for a story time next week I found myself loving every single page and is now on my list of awesome picture books. So you are probably wondering why I love it so much? Let me tell you about this book and all that it encompasses.
When I began reading, I found myself comparing the book to Dr Seuss ‘Cat in the Hat’, and although it wasn’t one of my favourite books as a child, this book is a lot shorter and very snappy. What I mean by this is that it hasn’t been designed as an early reader like the Dr Seuss books are known for, but rather I see this book being suitable for toddlers and preschoolers. I know it is going to be a hit with children (and adults too, notably geeky librarians), especially in groups reading sessions.
From that very first KNOCK KNOCK at the door as the book began, it was clear that the book was going to be an adventure. Not only does Caryl Hart bring to us some ACTUAL SIZE dinosaurs who get into all sorts of mischief, she has cleverly included counting from 1-10 seamlessly into the story. It melds together so well that the children won’t even realise that they are learning to count while having a story read to them.
The words are rhyming which assist children with word prediction and recognition which is an important reading skill. The rhyming makes the book very catchy which will make the words easy to remember which I think is wonderful for a storytime situation. With Words like THUMP BUMP BASH and MUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH there will be much interaction from the children when you are reading this to them. I love it when children get involved in a book, especially if they are shouting out phrases enthusiastically.
The illustrations are gorgeous, engaging and soooo very colourful. There is so much to see on each page and Nick East has done a great job at putting some great expressions on the dinosaur faces. Like my little friend in my last blog post, I am sure these illustrations will be explored in detail by children (and myself, I love illustrations).
So I think you can see why I love this book so much, it really is gorgeous. It has so much to offer in just one book. The paperback copy is out soon, but if you cannot wait for that the hardback has been out since 14 March 2017. If you do get a chance to read it let me know what you think, I would like to know if you love it as much as me!
Thank you to Hachette and the Author for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Little Big Reads 