Every librarian I know loves a good dinosaur storytime. There is plenty of roaring and stomping in this energetic storytime theme!
Books
for the tots
Dinosaur Kisses by David Ezra Stein
Roar: A Dinosaur Tour by Michael Paul
Dinoshapes (board book)
We Love Dinosaurs by Lucy Volpin
for preschool+
Don’t Forget Dexter! By Lindsay Ward
Rex Finds an Egg! Egg! Egg! By Steven Weinberg
Activities
“Like a Dinosaur”
I really like this action rhyme because it has some great vocabulary and sounds, and evokes good participation.
“Like a Dinosaur”
Spread your arms, way out wide
Fly like Pteranodon, soar and glide
Bend to the floor, head down low
Move like Stegosaurus, long ago
Reach up tall, try to be
As tall as Apatosaurus eating on a tree
Using your claws, grumble and growl
Just like Tyrannosaurus on the prowl
“Dinosaur, Dinosaur”
Variations of this action rhyme abound and for a good reason. It’s very easy and the littles can all do these simple motions. It also helps them get back on track if they are unwieldy.
“Dinosaur, Dinosaur”
Dinosaur, dinosaur, turn around
Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch the ground
Dinosaur, dinosaur, reach up high
Dinosaur, dinosaur, wink one eye
Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch your nose
Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch your toes
Dinosaur, dinosaur, slap your knees
Dinosaur, dinosaur, sit down please
“Five Little Dinosaurs”
This “5 Little…” rhyme has a fun twist that the children and parents will enjoy.
“Five Little Dinosaurs”
One dinosaur went out to play
In a giant swamp one day
She had such enormous fun
That she called for another dinosaur to come:
Raise hands to cup mouth, and call loudly:
Oh, Diiiiiiiiiinosaur!
Slap hands on thighs to make “running” sounds.
Two dinosaurs went out to play…
Three dinosaurs…
Four dinosaurs…
Five dinosaurs went out to play
In a giant swamp one day
They had such enormous fun
That they played until the day was done!
Conclusion
This storytime went exceptionally well in part because I had quite a few preschoolers to guide the tots. I love, love, love Roar: A Dinosaur Tour because it has super long dino names with pronunciations- making it an easier read-aloud with some grand vocabulary words!
