Dino Bites!

by Algy Craig Hall

Munch, crunch! “This is the dinosaur looking for lunch!” It's a dinosaur-eat-dinosaur (and other treats) world out there. But when Bite! Snap! Crunch! leads to a buzz, the buzz leads to a hop, and the hop leads to a wriggle, mealtime has surprising and hilarious results. This delightful cumulative story and fun read-aloud—now a board book—will entertain children again and again.  

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, Storytime, Childrens, Food, Humor, Juvenile

26 pages, Board Book

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

Algy Craig Hall is the author and illustrator of several children's picture books that have been on national library reading schemes in the UK (The Deep Dark Wood) and US (Dino Bites) and shortlisted for prizes including the Roald Dahl Funny Prize (The Scariest Monster in the World), the Read It Again Award (Fine As We Are) and the MacMillan Prize. He lives in London with his wife and three children.

Reviews

[Great Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three "fierce some" dinosaurs of varying size are looking for a bite to eat. But when the "food" does not agree with them, a whole lot of rumbling goes on in all those stomachs, ending in a comical surprise. Comical creatures, bright backgrounds, and spare text help create a wonderful story to share with a group, one-on-one or even as a very first reader. Reviewer 17

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's no such thing as a free lunch. From the big dinosaur to the little fly, as each eats the next smaller the reader wonders what will happen. A tickled stomach frees everyone in the end. A quick and silly story that might work for preschool storytime if the reader helps it along a bit.

[Stephanie Skolmoski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dino Bites! is a perfect book for a beginning reader. Once you read it to a child, they can read it right back to you! No matter how many times they read it, there is always laughter at the end! The illustrations are simple and wonderful. Kids love them! Enjoy this book with a child!

[Marissa Elera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Demonstrates chain reactions/cause and effect well. May upset younger audiences, but hey, it's the circle of life.

[Trasa Rossi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dino Bites! is about how three dinosaurs are all preying on another dinosaur smaller than them to eat. I think the pictures in this story are adorable, and it depicts a realistic concept of a predator/prey relationship, until the T-Rex burps out all of the dinosaurs he ate. The ending fits the age group the story is trying to reach, by giving it a comical light ending to a real life situation. Teachers could utilize this story by introducing a fictional book that discusses the basic principal of a real life predator/prey relationships. Children will love this book because of the bright, eye catching illustrations that go along with the story.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun to read in storytime! The giant illustrations and sparse text have big impact in a crowd, the dinosaurs and the chain of chomping are so fun to emphasize and act out, and the burp at the end keeps the whole thing from being too scary, while the drama remains high. Great for energetic and dinosaur-loving kiddos.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dinosaur is looking for lunch, who is looking for a snack, who is looking for a bite! Dinosaurs are hungry and this is kind of a food chain book. But I liked how it ended...pretty appropriate ending for little ones.

[Kate Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books with hardly any text on the page, which I find frustrating. While the little “twist” at the end made us giggle, I’m glad we just borrowed this one from the library instead of buying.

[Jodee · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an adult reading to a toddler wasn't my cup of tea unfortunately. Cute illustrations but meh on the story line.

[kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

just okay story/picturewise. my toddler was mostly just into me making CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP noises on my own

[Valleri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a funny (and fun!) book! Though it was short and (kinda) sweet, I would enjoy reading this book to my little ones over and over.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, fast, funny. Good for restless groups!

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was hilarious! Simple and perfect for toddlers.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cumulative, "there was an old lady"-style story in which dinosaurs look for lunch...and The lunch doesn't cooperate!

[Joella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those picture books that has very few words and the kids will get to explain what happens themselves. (I love those. Especially when I use them in story time and continually ask “what happened?”) Basically a dinosaur is looking for lunch (a smaller dino). The smaller dino is looking for a snack (the smallest dino). The smallest dino is looking for a bite (a bug). Then the smallest dino eats the bug. The smaller dino eats the smallest dino. The dinosaur (who looks like a t-rex) eats the smaller dino. But the bug buzzes in the smallest dino’s stomach. Which creates a train reaction of everyone burping. And the dinos and the bug all fly out of the respective mouths (and the face on the bug is just perfect).

I like the simple text and the simple illustrations (lots of big black lines outline relatively few colors on the animals and the backgrounds are all one solid color). That means that the focus will be perfectly placed on the what-if storyline. Loads of room for kids to figure out what is really happening so they can practice their narrative skills. Nice.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the shortest dinosaur books you will ever read! Three dinosaurs are looking for something to eat. They find their prey and give a chomp. Soon after their bite, their meals backfire with a giant belch!

The book is fast paced, but fun and interesting. The illustrations could be considered minimalistic, but they highlight the action and the minimal words per page. The dinosaurs jump to the forefront because of the solid color pages with no background illustrations. In a small group setting, the reader can expand on the topics of the book and create a fun book talk about the food chain or digestion.

Theme: Dinosaurs
Additional themes: eating, cumulative, cause and effect, food chain

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Munch, crunch! “This is the dinosaur looking for lunch!” It's a dinosaur-eat-dinosaur (and other treats) world out there. But when Bite! Snap! Crunch! leads to a buzz, the buzz leads to a hop, and the hop leads to a wriggle, mealtime has surprising and hilarious results. This delightful cumulative story and fun read-aloud will entertain children again and again.

Readalikes: I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly: A Hilarious Lift-the-Flap Book!

[Maddypictures · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, loud and funny! This story is a total triumph. One dinosaur chomps another in this food chain book, and all is well until, "The bite buzzed..." causing T-Rex to rather loudly "BUUURP!" the other dinos free again. Dino Bites has enormous kid appeal, large, colorful illustrations with bold dark outlines and a very simple text, sometimes only one word per page. Perfect for reading aloud to large groups.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hungry dinosaur is looking for lunch and his lunch is looking for a snack who's looking for a bite to eat. With all of these creatures wiggling around in the dinosaur's stomach he lets out a monster burp and everyone escapes!

A funny read aloud that brings to mind the Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly.

[Meghan Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was a little disturbing because it's kind of about the food chain, but it's kind of wimpy too because the food doesn't stay down. My three year old niece, however, thought it was hysterical. The text is simple and the illustrations are simple, bright, and very powerful. I would recommend this book for preschoolers that aren't too sensitive.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first it seems a little dark, watching the food chain from largest creature to smallest, but then the story takes a twist a la "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly" and the creatures all make a funny escape. Will be a nice read aloud during story time.

[Msjennifers Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for babies and especially toddlers. Big bold illustrations that will catch their eyes. Few words that tell the story without any too much to distract. And what kid doesn't like a burp in their story?

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is perfect for ECE and read aloud! It is the story of a dinosaur who is looking for his lunch (and what the lunch itself is looking to eat). It is a great sequence book with good vocabulary, large text and pictures, and a simple story. Awesome!

[betanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I walked between three and four stars on this one. The concept is simple, but the story is amusing to my boy and I. Its a simple book and suffers from deminishing returns. Still, it is a fun book that we occasionally borrow.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing groundbreaking, but it's a cute book that kids will want to read.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boys will eat this up!

[Lupine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh yes -- Dinosaur Story Time!

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are a little goofy looking and the story couldn't be simpler. Kids may find this funny, but it wouldn't be a first choice for me.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had tremendous success in storytime with this one. The kids loved it! Short, sweet, and funny!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Kids will love this one, especially at story times. The illustrations are fun and the text easy. An instant hit.