Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
238th out of 2,253 books
—
3,525 voters
Danny and the Dinosaur (Danny and the Dinosaur #1)
by
Syd Hoff
Danny loves dinosaurs. When he sees one at the museun and says, "It would be nice to play with a dinosaur," a voice answers, "And I think it would be nice to play with you." So begins Dannys and the dinosaur's wonderful adventure together!
But a dinosaur is no ordinary playmate. Even the most everyday activities become extraordinary, like finding a big-enough place to hide...more
But a dinosaur is no ordinary playmate. Even the most everyday activities become extraordinary, like finding a big-enough place to hide...more
Paperback
Published
September 25th 1978
by HarperCollins
(first published January 1st 1958)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
May 04, 2012
Jazlyn Caraballo
added it
The book I have chosen for my fantasy picture book is, “Danny and the Dinosaur.” This book deals with the fantasy of a dinosaur coming to life and doing human like things. Danny is visiting the museum and is very interested in the dinosaur section. In the book he wishes that he can play with the dinosaurs and then all of a sudden the dinosaur starts to talk and comes to life. Throughout the story they are going through different adventures and visiting new places. Towards the end of the book Da...more
I imagine this was a charming book when it was released in the late fifties. I suppose I can see the appeal. It's a simple book for kids who are learning to read. It has a goofy looking dinosaur. It has a polite little kid. And they have fun little adventures in some nondescript American city.
But it's not the fifties anymore, and I am a jaded bastard who likes his kids books on the salty (or maybe just interesting) side. So the sweet dino and the sweet boy are like the syrupy skein of goo at the...more
But it's not the fifties anymore, and I am a jaded bastard who likes his kids books on the salty (or maybe just interesting) side. So the sweet dino and the sweet boy are like the syrupy skein of goo at the...more
"Danny and the Dinosaur" is a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year Award by Syd Hoff and it is about how a young boy named Danny starts playing with a friendly dinosaur who has come to life when in a museum that Danny goes to. "Danny and the Dinosaur" is a true masterpiece for many children who love books about dinosaurs!
Syd Hoff has done an outstanding job at both illustrating and writing this book. Syd Hoff's illustrations are both creative and cute at the same time as the dinosaur that...more
Syd Hoff has done an outstanding job at both illustrating and writing this book. Syd Hoff's illustrations are both creative and cute at the same time as the dinosaur that...more
1 like · like · see review
view 2 comments
It's easy to see why this book has put smiles on children's faces for over fifty years. I know my six-year-old self would have LOVED it if a dinosaur befriended me at the museum, gave me a ride around town, and played hide-and-seek with me and my friends! I think there are such cute touches in the book with the text and especially the illustrations, like when the dinosaur makes a bridge for the people to cross the street, or when he sees the "giant rocks" (buildings) and thinks of climbing them....more
6 likes · like · see review
Danny visits the museum and when he gets to the dinosaur display a real dinosaur pops out and asks Danny to play with him. So off they go through the town having lots of fun ending up playing hide 'n' seek with the neighbourhood children but as sunset comes along everyone must go home including the dinosaur who must get back to the museum. This is one of the original "I Can Read" books that has stood the test of time. What little boy doesn't go through the dinosaur stage? This silly story is a l...more
Title: Danny the Dinosaur Written and Illustrated by: Syd Hoff
Genre: Fantasy Age Level: P; I Date: 2003.
Danny goes to a museum one day to meet a dinosaur. This dinosaur is really nice and wants to be Danny’s friend. The dinosaur takes Danny for a ride on his back. The dinosaur is so tall, he hits the telephone wires. The dinosaur helps people cross the street. Everyone likes him. When they went to the zoo the dinosaur was asked to leave because he was taking the attention away from the animals....more
Genre: Fantasy Age Level: P; I Date: 2003.
Danny goes to a museum one day to meet a dinosaur. This dinosaur is really nice and wants to be Danny’s friend. The dinosaur takes Danny for a ride on his back. The dinosaur is so tall, he hits the telephone wires. The dinosaur helps people cross the street. Everyone likes him. When they went to the zoo the dinosaur was asked to leave because he was taking the attention away from the animals....more
Jul 02, 2010
Lisa Vegan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
early readers; kids who like dinosaurs and fanciful stories
This book came out when I was 4 or 5 and I’ll bet I read it when I was young, but I don’t remember it. I hope that I read it when I was 5 or 6 or 7; I would have absolutely loved it.
It’s a very cute story, very 1958, but I think today’s young readers will enjoy it too. The text is good for early readers, and younger children will enjoy having this read to them.
Most kids like dinosaurs and the dinosaur here is adorable. He’s endearing, friendly, helpful, and he uses correct grammar too. He’s funn...more
It’s a very cute story, very 1958, but I think today’s young readers will enjoy it too. The text is good for early readers, and younger children will enjoy having this read to them.
Most kids like dinosaurs and the dinosaur here is adorable. He’s endearing, friendly, helpful, and he uses correct grammar too. He’s funn...more
4 likes · like · see review
I like that Danny and the dinosaur are so ... nice. They're interested in helping people, and it's fun, even so many years later, to think of what helpful things a dinosaur could do.
My husband brought Danny and the Dinosaur home from the library today. He immediately sat down and my daughter climbed in his lap. I listened as he read and looked at the pictures over his shoulder. I believe I have read this before long ago. My daughter sat for about half the book and stood to look at the pictures for most of the rest. I enjoyed listening in and my husband said “It’s cute.” I liked the bright pictures. I liked the fun that Danny and the children have with the dinosaur. Especial...more
1 like · like · see review
This book was kind of a mix between a picture book and a transitional book. It had a good mix of words and pictures, but probably too long and too many words to just be considered a picture book; at the same time, it was a way easier read than something like Junie B. Jones so it probably wasn't fully transitional either. As far as the plot goes though, I enjoyed it. It's another one of those books that takes your mind away to another place and really gets your imagination going. And when I was a...more
This book would be great to introduce the topic of fiction and non-fiction. It's important to tell kids that although dinosaurs were real at one point, they aren't here anymore. And they surely can't walk around town talking and helping people cross the street.
Being this book is from 1958, the illustrations were lacking. And it would have been nice to see at least one name of a dinosaur, just to get kids familiar with what dinosaur names sound like, but I generally enjoyed this adventurous tale...more
Being this book is from 1958, the illustrations were lacking. And it would have been nice to see at least one name of a dinosaur, just to get kids familiar with what dinosaur names sound like, but I generally enjoyed this adventurous tale...more
Childhood favorite. Who doesn't want a dinosaur friend?
My husband had a copy of Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff as a child. His parents still have his old collection of picture books by the bedroom the grandkids use when visiting. On our last night of a recent visit, I read the book to Sean and Harriet. What I didn't realize, was that it's one of my son's favorite "I Can Read Books."
Danny goes to the library and sees a dinosaur on display. It makes him wish that he could have a pet dinosaur. The dinosaur comes alive and offers to spend the day wi...more
Danny goes to the library and sees a dinosaur on display. It makes him wish that he could have a pet dinosaur. The dinosaur comes alive and offers to spend the day wi...more
Apr 11, 2012
Brian
added it
Recommends it for:
Toddlers
Recommended to Brian by:
My dad, when I was a toddler
My entire toddlerhood!
A prosauropod like the one in this book is the perfect dinosaur friend for any child. It can walk on two legs or four (actually they couldn't pronate their hands so they were obligate bipeds, but who cares?) and it isn't a vicious carnivore. Only problem is that they were among the most primitive, least intelligent dinosaurs, so they'd be hard to train.
But you'd need a pretty big species like Riojasaurus to ride behind its head like Danny does on the book's cover.
A prosauropod like the one in this book is the perfect dinosaur friend for any child. It can walk on two legs or four (actually they couldn't pronate their hands so they were obligate bipeds, but who cares?) and it isn't a vicious carnivore. Only problem is that they were among the most primitive, least intelligent dinosaurs, so they'd be hard to train.
But you'd need a pretty big species like Riojasaurus to ride behind its head like Danny does on the book's cover.
One day Danny goes to the museum. He likes the dinosaurs best and wishes that he could have one of his own. And in all good books, Danny gets his wish and gets to spend a day with a dinosaur. They play games and eat together. But at the end of the day the dinosaur needs to go back where he is needed and Danny is left to go home, but knowing that he doesn't have room for a dinosaur.
Great for early readers who are ready for short sentences and short chapters.
Great for early readers who are ready for short sentences and short chapters.
Danny spends the day with a dinosaur, doing all the fun sort of things he'd do with the rest of his friends (i.e. playing hide and seek, etc).
This is a cute, comical, story with a sweet ending, but there really isn't *that* much to the plot. I'd probably give this three stars, except that I remember enjoying it when I was little and for whatever reason (the story, the illustrations, or both) it made an impression on me. So, for that I gave it an extra star.
This is a cute, comical, story with a sweet ending, but there really isn't *that* much to the plot. I'd probably give this three stars, except that I remember enjoying it when I was little and for whatever reason (the story, the illustrations, or both) it made an impression on me. So, for that I gave it an extra star.
Childhood favorite. Who doesn't want a dinosaur friend? One day Danny goes to the museum. He likes the dinosaurs! He wishes that he could have one of his own. Danny gets his wish and gets to spend a day with a dinosaur. They play games and eat together! But at the end of the day the dinosaur needs to go back where he is needed and Danny is left to go home, but knowing that he doesn't have room for a dinosaur. Such a good book that helps early readers to like reading.
Kid has a dinosaur. How friggin' great is that?
I like that when Danny gets the dinosaur, he chooses to ride it around town, much like you might if you'd just acquired, say, a new moped. Sure, you could alert the media and become a overnight sensation and a historical footnote, or somehow contain the dinosaur and make a handsome living charging admission. You could even assume that you've lost all control of your mental faculties, and flee gibbering into the woods, subsisting on checkerberry and...more
I like that when Danny gets the dinosaur, he chooses to ride it around town, much like you might if you'd just acquired, say, a new moped. Sure, you could alert the media and become a overnight sensation and a historical footnote, or somehow contain the dinosaur and make a handsome living charging admission. You could even assume that you've lost all control of your mental faculties, and flee gibbering into the woods, subsisting on checkerberry and...more
I pretended I lived in the fifties. I laughed. The dinosaur does some stupid shit, like play hide and seek with children. THEY FIND HIM ALL THE TIME. Once, he hides behind a lamp post. A dinosaur hiding behind a lamp post. That is what made the book likable.
All the people are white. There is a statue of a Native American at a museum, but the term used in the book is Indian.
All the people are white. There is a statue of a Native American at a museum, but the term used in the book is Indian.
A classic easy-reader book that probably works well for helping beginning readers get their feet wet. However, the story itself is just silly. Perhaps is just too dated but it sounds like it was just made up on the spot. There are some good spots -- like the humorous hide-and-seek game. Recommended if you or your child is learning to read. Not recommended as a story to read to your children.
Don't remember the illustrations from when I was little, but I do remember being impressed with the idea that Danny and his friends gave the Dinosaur a chance to be the winner in their mismatched game of hide and seek. When I shared this with some of my younger students (as a comparison between fiction and nonfiction titles re dinosaurs), they seemed to catch the same thing.
Danny visits the museum where he discovers his favorite creature of all, dinosaurs. To Danny’s surprise, one of the dinosaurs comes to life. Follow Danny and the dinosaur as they spend the day together exploring the city, eating ice cream and playing hide and seek with Danny’s friends.
I like this simple and charming tale because it really plays towards a child's imagination.
I like this simple and charming tale because it really plays towards a child's imagination.
This book is meh. I liked the idea of the dinosaur coming alive to play, but come on, those aren't real things a dinosaur would do.
This book could still be used to introduce dinosaurs. Perhaps the teacher can ask about facts and myths, and the children can pick out the myths about dinosaur in the book. For example, I don't think that dinosaur can swim.
This book could still be used to introduce dinosaurs. Perhaps the teacher can ask about facts and myths, and the children can pick out the myths about dinosaur in the book. For example, I don't think that dinosaur can swim.
This book shows the friendship of a boy and his dinosaur. It shows all the different things dinosaurs could do with humans if they were around today, that is if they were tamed. This book could also be used in the first grade class, and is easy enough for students who struggle with reading as well as student who don't.
I liked this story that Mike had read as a child. It is a fun adventure for a boy wanting to play with a dinosaur. I told Mike that I know why he likes this book - it has ice cream, rowing and baseball in it! He hadn't read it in several years so had forgotten about those elements of the book.
This is a wonderful story for any child that loves dinosaurs. Danny finds a dinosaur in a museum that comes alive. He goes on all kinds of adventures with his new playmate. In the end then dinosaur has to go home. Danny is okay with that since his new friend is too big to stay in his house.
PB 3: It's a very good story to get young children interested in reading, especially if they like dinosaurs as much as I do. It has good pictures and it would be easy for young children to learn to read with. I enjoy that it has dialogue instead of talking directly at the reader.
Cute story of a boy and dinosaur going to the museum together. I liked it because it is easy to read for the new reader. This is great for a kindergartener 1st grader. The words are simple, the writing is a larger font, and the plot is simple. Not memorable but good.
For pre-k children, this is a good book. Young boys love to dinosaurs and this book is great for young dinosaur lovers. The children will enjoy the Danny’s clowning around on his adventure. I would use this book in my pre-k classroom for dinosaur lovers.
*Beginning Reader* This story about Danny having a dinosaur friend is a very basic beginning reader. There are some more difficult words that would have to be sounded out, but the story of how a boy becomes such good friends with a dinosaur is imaginative and fun.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Whether you’re seven or seventy, the chances are you’ve probably come in contact with one of his many books (150 plus), or cartoons that have appeared in over 200 magazines in the course of his lifetime, including Laugh it Off which was syndicated for 20 years. His comic strip Tuffy, about a little girl who did funny things, was declared essential for national morale during WWII by William Randolp...more
More about Syd Hoff...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
