Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp

by Carol Diggory Shields, Scott Nash (Illustrator)

Containing illustrations that leap off the page like a raptor doing the fandango, this book informs all dinosaur devotees about reptilian revelry in verses with a tail-whacking, fun lovin', rhythmic beat.

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction, Animals, Music

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Carol Diggory Shields was inspired to write Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp after "being called a Nagosaurus by my five-year-old," she admits. "I started playing with the idea of partying dinosaurs who were scientifically accurate (more or less), and somehow in the prehistoric ooze of my brain, Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp took shape." Her rocking prehistoric party proved a hit with both young readers and critics. "Witty and imaginative, the poem has a rhythm that makes cumbersome multisyllable dinosaur names roll off the tongue," said Kirkus Reviews.
Currently a children's librarian, Carol Diggory Shields has also worked with children as a recreational therapist and at one time was a designer of stuffed toys. Her years of being around children have no doubt helped her get a feel for the fun-but-factual stories that kids love, told in animated verse with an infectious beat. After successfully collaborating with illustrator Scott Nash on Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp, she teamed up with him for Martian Rock, "the true story of how a meteorite from Mars arrived on Earth," she quips.
More recently, the pair worked together again on The Bugliest Bug, a wacky tale of an insect talent contest threatened by hungry spiders (disguised as judges) and a brave little Damselfy who saves the day. "Insects are awesome!," the author enthuses. "Every human invention, from catapults to jet propulsion, had already been invented and used by bugs for millions of years. And that's why to be 'bugly' is the ultimate compliment."
The author of several books for children, Carol Diggory Shields lives in northern California.

Reviews

[Neko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this children's book quite a few times but I never realized I hadn't tracked it on GR so after completing the 50/50 book challenge for this year I placed this here so I don't forget it.

It was my Mum who put me onto this book when I worked with a child who LOVED dinosaurs and I mean to the point of high obsession. This book is great for young children because it's got rhymes and lovely colourful pictures illustrating dinosaurs dancing!! Basically it's a story about dinosaurs who are going to have a party,getting ready for it and enjoying the party all night long.
It might even help you with naming some of those not so easy dinosaur names..haha! It's also just short but long enough to keep the kids interested. Could even get them into the swing of wanting to do their own rhyme.

[Nostalgia Reader]

WELL THAT WAS FUN. Really, you never truly grow out of your dinosaur phase. 10/10 would have loved this as a kid, and 10/10 love it as an adult.

While some readers have complained that it doesn't have any "purpose," I argue that not ALL kids books HAVE to teach a Moral Lesson--sometimes they can just be fun books about having a party, dancing around, and having fun! I saw this was assigned for a Music/Movement for Young Kids class at a local college and I think the story fits a class like that perfectly--it encourages kids to make up their own Dino Stomp dance, while also just being a fun story!

(Also, most of the dino names are real.. I think there were only one or two that were fakes.)

[Elizabeth]

At the Explore•a•Saurus exhibit at the Boston Children's Museum, my 23-month-old nibling kept bringing over books, and this was the only one I managed to read all the way through in the moment.

The rhyming text is engaging -- reminiscent of Sandra Boynton's Dinosaur Dance!

It has a lot of dinosaur names I hadn't encountered before (Protoceratops, Maiasur, etc.), though in rereading it I recognized many of them from the nonfiction picturebooks, and I was pleased to learn that they weren't just made-up names that sounded fun. (The illustrator bio in the back notes: "when drawing for children, Scott is quick to admit if he does not know how to draw the dinosaur requested of him. 'When you are talking with kids, you are dealing with dinosaur experts,' he says.")

---

As an aside, I appreciated BCM's stacking the deck with books by female authors in that room:
* Born to be giants : how baby dinosaurs grew to rule the world / Lita Judge.
* Boy, were we wrong about dinosaurs! / Kathleen V. Kudlinski ; illustrated by S.D. Schindler.
* How big were dinosaurs? / Lita Judge.
* Saturday night at the dinosaur stomp / Carol Diggory Shields ; illustrated by Scott Nash.
* Dinosaur dance! / by Sandra Boynton

[Robb Rugeroni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diggory Shields, Carol. Illustrated by Nash, Scott. Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp (1997).
If it’s Saturday night, and the rock and roll is blaring, count on feeling the tremors as the dinosaurs gather to dance and stomp the night away! This lyrical and musical poetic story dances along with its onomatopoeia-filled stanzas yet at the same time identifies each species of dinosaur by its scientific name. The watercolor and pencil drawings fill the large pages with joyful expressions and party backgrounds. This book will surely entertain as a read aloud or as emerging readers discover phonetics. “Boomalacka, boomalacka! Whack! Whack! Whack!” Large hardcover with sturdy pages. Target audience: pre-readers to early elementary school students, up to grade 3.

[Cheryl Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute book for dinosaur-loving kids. Lots of fun rhymes with a unique story all while featuring tons (ha!) of different dinosaurs, making it a cool book for learning too. The illustrations are perfect - so colorful, fun, and appealing. My grandsons will love it!

[Lorena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for a child obsessed with dinosaurs. I bought this for my grand-nephew’s third birthday. It has good rhythm and just enough scientific names to teach them something at the same time as laughing at the cute things the dinos do.

[Chrisanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun for kids who love dinosaurs. I don't particularly.

[Tym · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun story that is best read out-loud with sound effects.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Half the fun of this story comes when you stand up a join the party with your little ones.
Pantomime brushing teeth, scrubbing all over, and slicking down your scales.
Get ready, set, go and run in place.
Pantomime sipping punch and making your hands into binoculars to look around.
Pantomime strumming strings and banging drums. Shake it up with a "boomalacka boomalacka Whack, whack, whack!"
Spin around and jump up and down and do a little dance. Twist and bump and rap and jump.
Open and shut hands to pantomime FIREWORKS!
Finally stretch and yawn and sit back down. Whew!

[Vidya Tiru · Rating 5 out of 5]

(first reviewed and posted in 2012; reposted in 2021 on my blog - ladyinreadwrites.com)
What It Is
You thought the dinosaurs are extinct. Well, they are not! They are simply sleeping off their last party – the Dinosaur Stomp. It was a Saturday night when all the dinosaurs went tromping off to dance super dino-dances like the brontosaurus bump. They danced so hard they rocked up an earthquake! Volcanoes provided the fireworks show for their party

Our Thoughts
I have been reading this book for over 4 years now – I first started reading it to my now 8-year-old son who still enjoys it and am now reading it to my 5-year-old little girl. We all love the rhyme and rhythm of this book.

It is a fun-read and one I have not minded reading over and over again all these years (that is a must for parents). We all love getting into the spirit of the book and go stomping and dancing and shouting ‘booma lacka, booma lacka, whack, whack, whack’!

The illustrations are a perfect match for the flowing, entertaining story. This was one book I decided to buy after the first read, as I knew I would be reading it many times again. My son (a dinosaur fan) and my daughter (not really into dinos) both love it.

One other related book that I have read and enjoyed (but do not own) is Dinosaurumpus

[Cammie Thurston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp is the story of how dinosaurs get ready for the dinosaur stomp on Saturday night. The story talks about different types of dinosaurs and how they interacted at the stomp. The dinosaurs play different music and dance all night long. The book is a rhyming book that makes it really entertaining to read out loud. This was one of my favorite books for my mom to read when I was a kid because she would get really into the rhyming and always make it exiting to learn about dinosaurs. This book would belong in a first or second grade classroom. I would love to read this book out loud to my students because I think it would be fun to rhyme and engage my students as a class. It would be challenging for students to read because it includes many different dinosaur names that are difficult to pronounce. This book is a fun way for students to learn about different types of dinosaurs.

[Aleksander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been in my life since I was a little kid, and I'm currently in my fourth year of college. This book has helped me during a lot of sleepless nights, and it will always have a special place in my heart. My mom and I honestly still have most of the book memorized! I absolutely would recommend this book to any parent, and especially ones that have kids that are into dinosaurs; it is a cute and fun read.

[Benjamin Harwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story that would be great for all children as it shows them a lot of different dinosaur with great illustrations. It's fun to read but also difficult as some of the names of the dinosaurs are very difficult to pronounce so you will need to read before hand and practice if your thinking of reading this out loud to your class. Great fun story for all ages

[Sally Edsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all the best kids' books, this is one you don't mind reading over and over again. The rhymes set up a rock 'n' roll rhythm. The bright, colourful illustrations make it a lot of fun. It was a favourite for some time when my son was about 4 - 5.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like how the book rhymes- it really caught my attention. This book would be really fun for children who love dinosaurs because it talks about the names of all the different dinosaurs. However, I did not think the story was very captivating.

[Rachael Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. The pictures are bright and colorful. It rhymes. It also covers a lot of different dinosaur names, which would be great for kids who love dinosaurs. I love the rhymes and the different descriptive song and dance words. I really enjoyed this book!

[Bookworm Blogger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, colourful illustrations and a very clever way to introduce the different dinosaur names (even if they were a bit of a tongue twister!). The rhyming element helped the bounce along and my son very much enjoyed the story.

[Morgan Dyke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: modern fantasy
Grade level:
I really enjoy reading this book. It is a fun read. This book would be great for reading aloud. I like the illustrations and how fun the words are that go along with it. It’s a book that’s all about dinosaurs having fun and hanging out.

[Halon W · Rating 5 out of 5]

should've added this to goodreads ages ago--i don't think my fondness for this story will ever fade. a copy just passed across my circ desk, reminding me that i definitely need to buy a copy to add to my "picture books for my siblings' eventual kids" shelf

[Mae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story, but hard to pronounce all the different type of dinosaurs. Dinosaurs get ready to have a dance party called the Dinosaur Stomp.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a reader not well-versed in dinosaurs, this was a tricky book to read aloud, but it was sweet and popular amongst the clear dinosaur aficionados at the dinosaur-themed storytime.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brightly illustrated rhyming story is full of action as dinosaurs stomp and party - so much that they cause the first earthquake. Funny story and pictures.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this one will be perfect to pair with Koo Koo Kanga Roo's 'Dino Stomp' for storytime.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rhyming and fun - a fantastic read aloud to a group of dinosaur fans!

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun

[Guin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The preschoolers really enjoyed this read.

[Little Champs]

Big 56

[Goshen PL Childrens · Rating 5 out of 5]

GPL Storytime Goes Online: Miss Tina's Pick
July 22, 2020

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

It really isn't great; it could scan better and be more creative. However, kids probably won't mind, and then you can have a little dance party with them.

Not all books have to be great.

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute book picture were amazing