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This children’s book is a Jurassic joy!
Nothing captures a child’s imagination like dinosaurs and Christmas. Author Anne Muecke takes a seemingly unrelated pair - T. Rex and S. Claus - and creates a new twist on the classic holiday poem.
You know the drill: ‘twas the night before Christmas… And a boy, who happens to live across the street from a natural history museum, notices something unusual on the other side. He goes to take a look inside the museum, which is conveniently unlocked. He finds dinosaurs have come to life, grown skin (or is it scales?), and are throwing one great Christmas party.
Parents reading the book aloud for the first time might stumble on some of the dinosaur names. Kids listening won’t really notice if they’re drawn in by the wonderful and colorful illustrations by Nathan Hale.
Dinosaurs' Night comes with a CD that features weatherman Al Roker pleasantly narrating the tale. Overall, the other recordings on the disc are duds. The combo of Christmas and extinct animals are fine in the text but become very awkward in song. My own five year-old just gave me a puzzled look upon hearing the tune of ‘Jingle Bells’ with lyrics like “Hidden in your crest were chambers full of air/Could these extra cavities enhance your vocal flair?”
Though the CD may not come back out of the sleeve, reading The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas will become a holiday tradition each December.
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Mike O'Lenick/2009 for curled
up with a good kid's book |
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For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews,
visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)
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The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas