My Dearest Dinosaur

by Margaret Wild, Donna Rawlins (Illustrator)

A mother dinosaur speaks to her absent mate, describing how she and her newly hatched babies are staying alive while he hunts for a safer place for them all to live.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

1 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Margaret Wild is one of Australia's most highly respected picture-book creators whose award-winning children's books are loved by children all over the world. Margaret has published over seventy picture books for young children and she has been the recipient of the Nan Chauncy Award and the Lady Cutler Award for her contributions to Australian children's literature.

Reviews

[Jessica Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parasaurolophus is my daughter's favorite dinosaur and I read the reviews before buying this and I really don't know what people are on about. It's lovely in all ways. Simple, basic, easy to follow, and not sugar coated or totally fantastical. It's rather hard to find a dinosaur book that isn't either a full on non-fiction one that is no fun to read or absolutely silly which, though I agree they can be fun, if that's all that is on offer it's just as dull. This strikes just the right balance and gave us bits to talk about while being very pretty to look at, by being a bit whimsical because a dinosaur writing in a diary is what it is written like, and presenting wild dinosaur life in a realistic but not terrifying manner.

[Lucy Bignall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an extraordinary book. I loved the illustrations but found the storyline to be ridiculously anthropomorphic and far too grown up for children. HOWEVER, I first came across it at my son's school. One of his friends had been taking it out of the library every week for 6 months and when at last Sam got his hands on it, he then chose it every week for six months. He was four at the time. So there must be something in it that really appeals to small children!

[Inky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haven't bought a children's book for myself ever, but I love parasaurolophus. This book is very dark and might have some themes that are difficult for smaller children. But for dinosaur loving adults it's great.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so the illustrations are kind of ancient looking, and I can't imagine in what situation you would read this book with a kid, but I kind of loved it. I love depressing children's picture books, and this one fits the bill. There's no happy resolution, and you get the feeling throughout that it is not going to end well for the dinosaur narrator. It fails to include the one thing all children's stories are supposed to contain: hope. But I think some kids are thoughtful and/or morbid enough to enjoy reading a diary from the last days of the dinosaurs. I know I am, but it probably would have given me anxiety to read this as a child.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unusual book, certainly different from most other dinosaur picture books, which always seem to include a lot of humour. This is written from the perspective of a mother dinosaur. She has a brood of newly hatched eggs & her partner is off hunting for a safer place to live. We see a series of letters from the dinosaur to her partner, while her hatchlings grow up. The pictures show lots of detail about the time period and dino-buffs will enjoy it, but otherwise I'm not sure how children will react to the story.

[Stephani Snow · Rating 1 out of 5]

The mom dinosaur rights to the dad dinosaur about there growing children. They babies grow up and the mom goes searching for the father. It is a weird book, but has kind of cool dino pictures.

Picture Book

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting perspective on dinosaurs. Not a dinosaur fan myself but was intrigued by this view.

The mother dinosaur is speaking to her lost mate and telling him about their family and their travels.
It gives the dinosaurs an emotional human voice. Interesting.

[Matt Johns · Rating 4 out of 5]

So emotive - sad ending, but beautiful illustrations