It can be hard to find books with a girl as the lead character, but this new title is about a girl named Marianne. It is written almost like a poem, with rhymes and, in some places, verses.
The adults in the story are concerned that Marianne has no friends and instead enjoys digging for bones on the beach. There, she uncovers a dinosaur skeleton and that night wishes that the bones come to life. Her wish comes true.
The dinosaur takes her through the sea, into a forest and finally to a magical island in the sky, where children and dinosaurs are having a party and, we are told, anything is possible. Marianne then returns to bed and the story ends with her surrounded by other children who are also digging for dinosaurs.
A GOOD CHOICE
Older nursery children and Reception and Year 1 classes will love this book. While the story is relatively simple, the language level does require children to be using language fairly fluently. Younger children could access this book if adults were to retell the story using the wonderful illustrations.
SHARING THIS BOOK
It is worth reading the story ahead of sharing it with children, in order to become familiar with its rhythms and rhymes. It is also a book that children will need to hear all the way through before you start to unpick its themes and focus on the details within the illustrations.
There are many interesting things to pick up on such as fishing boats and the signpost in the sky with phrases such as ‘Yonder’ and ‘Down Under’ on it.
SUPPORTING LEARNING
Language development
This is a great book for introducing children to words and phrases that they may otherwise be unfamiliar with. Look out for words such as ‘tattered and battered’ as well as ‘starlit’ and ‘slumber’. See if children can work out what they mean and, if necessary, supply an explanation.
It is also worth pointing out some of the details within the illustrations, such as the lobster pots, and naming them for children. This is also a book that can allow children to practise their skills of speculation. Does the dinosaur come back? Are the children with Marianne the same ones as at the party?
Literacy
While many children will not be able to read this book independently, the rhymes and rhythms within it can help children to enjoy verse. Rhymes and rhythms within text can also help children’s phonological development. After sharing the book a few times, encourage the children to fill in the end of the sentences. The first and penultimate pages have similar verses. If you read them one after the other, can children spot the difference in the wording?
Seek out collections of children’s poems and build up a collection of other rhyming books including, for example, Each Peach Pear Plum.
Personal, social and emotional development
Use the story to help children talk about friends and also how it feels not to have any. It also raises the safeguarding question of keeping secrets from adults. You could explore how ‘good’ secrets such as a birthday surprise for a sibling make us feel happy and should be kept, but that children should break secrets that make them unhappy even if an adult tells them not to.
Role play
Build on the discovery of the dinosaur skeleton and party in the sky. If you have a large sand pit, you could hide dinosaurs for children to dig for or create a beach by putting a quantity of sand onto a shower curtain or tarpaulin indoors.
With children’s input, you could create a pretend party to include pretend food as well as games.
Understanding the world
Not all children know about fossils. As many local museums have loan boxes of fossils, you might be able to bring some in to show children. Using the internet, you could also find out more about some of the more recent dinosaur finds in the world including some film clips of the bones being dug up. See, for example, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSVm0yIuSoY.
If your setting is not by the sea, you might like to see if children can spot things in the illustrations that are different from where they live. For example, look out for the pier, lighthouse and bathing huts.
ABOUT THIS SERIES
Over the course of this monthly series on sharing books with children, Penny Tassoni will look at a range of fiction and non-fiction titles, from rhyming books for babies to picture books that adults and children can explore together.
