Tag Archives: dinosaur fiction

I’m Longer Than You! An Epic Contest of Measurement

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by Caroline Fisher

Who would have thought that a picture book about measurement could be so fun? Blue Whale and Supersaurus are arguing over which of them is longer. Inchworm comes in and offers to help with the winner buying lunch. It takes inchworm (who is an inch long) 12 hours to measure Blue Whale, who is 1,300 inches long. Inchworm can’t measure Supersaurus, because he has to go into his cocoon. So, in comes centipede (who is a centimeter long) and he measures Supersaurus. It also take 12 hours and Supersaurus is exactly 3302 centimeters long. Wait! What does that mean? Dragonfly saves the day by doing the math and determines that the two behemoths are the same length!

This wonderful melding of math and science into a picture book is hilarious and educational. Readers learn the difference between the customary and metric systems as well as some cool science and end with some little known math terms (check out “zeptosecond”). Accompanying illustrations are cartoon-like and fun. Buy this book and start measuring. Your students will love it! Highly recommended.

Dinosaur Friends!

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by Peter Curtis

Dinosaurs of all sizes romp together in this easy reader. With names like Squeak, Whack and Thud (to name just a few), these dinosaurs are friendly and full of fun. They explore the rainforest of their home, the island Paleos. Most pages introduce another dinosaur by name, with their italicized scientific names and physical attributes (attached to their names). For example: Snap is a Spinosaurus who has very sharp teeth. Whack is a Stegosaurus with a tail that can knock over the other dinosaurs. In this book, dinosaurs play chase, but they never eat each other. Who would eat their friends?

Boldly drawn dinosaurs in vivid colors explore their island home, Their cartoon-like faces are always smiling even when they have very large teeth! Each page has minimal text that early readers will enjoy. A glossary at the beginning of the book details each dinosaur’s imaginary name, scientific name with pronunciation guide and physical attributes. Young readers will enjoy going back to that glossary more than once. Add this to your collection if you need some lower level dinosaur storybooks with the bonus nonfiction content.