Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur....A First Book of Manners

by Unknown Author (Brand), Tim Bowers (Illustrator)

Suppose you meet a dinosaur inside your local grocery store....In this fantasy, a well-mannered little girl and an equally well-mannered dinosaur know all the right words, like "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me".

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

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2012

About the author

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Reviews

[Storytime Chrissy]

This one was a big hit in storytime. Explaining that we were going to read about what you would do if you met a dinosaur in the grocery store was met with big, exaggerated noises of surprise and disbelief. The rhyming was 98% spot on - it flowed really well, it did some excellent leading, and allowed for a lot of audience engagement. Plenty of children knew the answers to the questions posed in the book - 'please' and 'thank you' and the like, there was some wonderful echoing, overall an excellent choice.

I read this to a preschool crowd with some younger ones mixed in. It was well received by everyone (and even some of the babies seemed to enjoy my rendition of it!). We had to take a moment and figure out what butter brickle was, and there were a couple of spots where I felt the rhymes faltered. I would definitely read this one again.

Included in my storytime was an explanation and demonstration of how to say Please, Thank You, You're Welcome, and Sorry in American Sign Language. We also sang 'Dinosaur, Dinosaur' (to the tune of Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear) and performed the usual toe-touching and reaching-up-high.

[Sandy Lee]

The last thing we need is to worry about a dinosaur's body issues.

[Jack R.]

It was very funny!

[FamousLeslie]

I checked this out from our local library. When I read it to my daughter she asked me if I would buy it for her.

[Joyce Ellis]

The subtitle captures the book's purpose: A First Book of Manners, but the vivid, adorable illustrations of child and dinosaur that are so expressive make manners fun to learn. Written in the second-person point of view (Suppose you...), the book speaks directly to the reader/listener. A humorous situation is followed by a question, such as "What should you say?" And then the little girl or dinosaur gives the correct answer--all with comical illustrations. What a wonderful introduction to manners and politeness for little ones!

[skcocnaH]

You can’t write a book about manners that is fatphobic. That seems contradictory. Honestly, this was pretty cute until I got to this page:
“The dinosaur is worried that
A brickle snack would make her fat.
She does not want it, even slightly.
How does she let you know politely?”
Just ew. Authors should not be allowed to write stuff like this in books. It’s an underhanded shaming technique and that alone makes this a one star for me.

[Jamie Jonas]

What an all-out charmer of a book! I read it at a gulp. The in-your-face, fast-moving illustrations invite gulps, after all. Now THIS is cartooning. As a frustrated cartoonist, I think I at least know great cartooning when I see it. And the silly-but-meaningful, creatively polished text supports the phenomenal pictures perfectly. This is a picture-perfect way to teach your child/grandchild the proper phrases for good manners.

[Sylvie Gold]

Clever rhymes and whimsical illustrations combine to create a story designed to reinforce appropriate manners in young children in a fun way. However, I can't help being disturbed by the fact that the main character appears to be a very little girl who is shopping all by herself in the supermarket and is being encouraged to talk to a stranger. For safety's sake, young children are taught not to talk to strangers, so the idea that this book intimates that it is appropriate for a young child by herself to talk to a stranger in the supermarket is confusing and disturbing to me. The fact that the stranger in question is a gigantic Tyrannosaurus Rex who appears to be friendly makes the encouragement of conversation with her even more disturbing. The unfortunate reality of today's world is that children need to know that they cannot assume that everyone who is friendly to them is safe to talk to, and presenting a creature that is known in reality as a ferocious predator as a friendly and safe stranger, with whom the child is encouraged to converse, seems particularly inappropriate. I would have felt better about the story if the illustrations had depicted the child as accompanied by a parent who was giving the child permission and encouragement to speak politely to the dinosaur, and I'd probably feel better still if the dinosaur had been depicted as one of the plant-eaters. The book is clever and fun, but I would hesitate to share it with children for the reasons I have stated.

[Selma Ruiz]

Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur by Judy Sierra is a delightful children's book that takes young readers on an imaginative journey through the whimsical encounter of a child with a dinosaur. I think this is a very engaging story for young kids with the use of playful language, humor, and curiosity. The vivid and colorful illustrations complement the narrative, bringing the characters and the dinosaur to life on each page. The book's combination of engaging storytelling and vibrant visuals makes it an ideal choice to add to any child's bookshelf.

[FM Family]

This is one of those stores that, I’m not sure why, my 3.5 year old loved on first reading and asked me to reread like 4 times in a day and then never wanted to read again. Good, silly introduction to manners, but not much else there. Decent if you want a not too preachy way to talk manners, but not likely to become a family fave.

[Latrice Pearl]

Great book to help children learn their manners! I love the way the book asks questions and on the next page it gives the appropriate response. When your reading to your child; the child can give the appropriate response before you read it to him/her. The pictures are colorful and vibrant. The dinosaur looks friendly and approachable.

[SABRINA]

Had fun reading this with my Storytime kids yesterday! What a fun way to introduce/reintroduce appropriate manners. We treated it like a quiz type of book, what would you say?! and oldie but a goodie!

[Miranda Permenter]

I never thought I would accidentally read a fatphobic dinosaur book about manners, but here we are. Skipped a few pages so I didn’t have to explain to my 2 year old why a T-Rex is worried about getting fat 🙄

[Jessalyn Plant]

I love a book that introduces good manners. The illustrations are cute and the storyline is fun and easy to follow. Hoping to find similar books to continue teaching my kids to treat others politely and with respect.

[Joseph]

A good book on manners for kids to have it read to them.

[Ella Zig]

a cute book about manners in a rhyme-scheme fashion. Give it a read!

[Pam]

Lovely story manners. Easy to follow for younger readers.

[Jennifer]

A fun rhyming introduction to basic manners for preschoolers. Several answers are very simple and make for fun audience engagement.

[Angela De Groot]

While shopping at the grocery store, a little girl meets a dinosaur. A sweet story showing the how and when of good manners. Rhyming and humorous

[raccoon reader]

I will literally read ANYTHING regarding manners right now. Monsters? Dinosaurs? Aliens? Gimme. If it has manners I will read it. At least this one is pretty cute!

[Kellie]

Was good until the end when the dinosaur doesn’t want any candy because she’s “worried it will make her fat”

[Katie]

Not my favorite manners book, but creates a nice question/answer formula for storytime.
I would probably substitute “worried it will make her fat,” to 'worried it would make her sick.'

[Stacey]

Cute, but I'm not sure it'll work for my preschoolers. I'm keeping it at hand, just in case.

[Anthony]

While at the grocery store a young girl, and a dinosaur paths cross, and they both display a form of good etiquette and manners as they each go about their shopping.

[Joey Gremillion]

Highly recommended for that rascally wee beastie who would rather play video games than read. Dinsoaurs, alone, engage the wild child and this story uses that subject for a fun read. KUDOS.

[Colleen]

Ry loves this book! ❤️

[Luella Lee]

Nice book teaching manners.

[McKinnon]

one moment of fatphobia

[Megan Clavenna]

This is a good book if the sole intention is teaching manners but there wasn't much of a story to it so I don't think it would be very entertaining for the students.

[Elizabeth Smith]

Cute little story about good manners. Id recommend this book for kindergarten or first grade level. Has some rhyming but its a little off but the story is still cute.