Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs

Harry and the Dinosaurs

by Ian Whybrow, Adrian Reynolds

Sammy discovers a box of dusty toy dinosaurs in the attic. He cleans them and takes them everywhere, including the library where he looks up all of their names, which he whispers to them. And the dinosaurs whisper their thanks. Sammy is devastated when he accidentally leaves his dinosaurs on tire train. But in the end, Sammy and his dinosaurs are reunited because he knows their names.

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

Hardcover

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Ian Whybrow is a British writer of children's books, first published in 1989. He has written over 100 books for children, has been translated into 27 languages and is published in 28 countries. His books are humorous and range from picture books to novels, short stories and poetry.

Reviews

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first of the Harry and the bucketful of dinosaurs book, a lovely story of how Harry found the dinosaurs and his first few adventures with them. This book is likely to be very relatable to most children as the dinosaurs are Harry’s favourite toy and they get lost. FS and year 1 children would love this book as well as those children who love dinosaurs! The illustrations show how imaginative children can be with their toys!

[Tym · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was a kid I absolutely loved anything related to dinosaurs, dinosaurs movies, tv shows, toys, books, art, all of it. This brought back a little taste of that feeling. If the art would have been more unique or detailed this would have easily been a four-star review.

[Lisa Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son developed a love of dinosaurs the year he turned two. I saw this book through Scholastic and made the purchase just knowing that he would like the book. At the age of 5, this is still one of his favorites. It is well worn and he knows the story by heart. Sammy carried his dinosaurs in a bucket and so did my little Ben after he read this book. For an entire year, he carried his favorites with him in a bucket. He just couldn't understand why Sammy's dinos talked to him and Ben's did not. Very cute story with charming pictures. This story is concise enough to include during circle time.

[J. Boo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather cute story of a little boy who finds some old toy dinosaurs, fixes them up, gives them a home in a bucket, and (as any dinosaur obsessed child would) learns all their names and delights in saying them. The dinosaurs are lively - it's kept unclear as to if that is only in Sammy's imagination or whether they are really gamboling around. Unclear to the adult reader, that is; perfectly clear to a child.

Unfortunately, I liked the book much more than target audience DS#2 (age 2). I'd expected it to be up Dinochild's alley - he's put his dinosaurs in a bucket, delights in chanting their names, spends hours and hours and hours with them... and yet, is left entirely cold by this book. Perhaps his thought is: why waste time reading about someone playing with dinosaurs and reading about dinosaurs when one can be playing with dinosaurs and reading about dinosaurs, oneself? And why don't we start now? You be the Tyrannosaurus and I be the baby Tyrannosaurus and *waves plastic spoon* this is a lizard and we're going to eat him.

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

As part of the summer reading programs of the American Library in Paris, they give each child who successfully reads for 30 minutes a day for 10 days a book. My son chose this book because he loves dinosaurs. I'm glad he did because it's a very sweet book with great illustrations.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this while rearrange some boxes and books and I couldn't resist a trip down memory lane. This was one of the first books I vividly remember growing up, and what got me into both dinosaurs and books. I adore this

[Chris Lopezz · Rating 5 out of 5]

W book, W pictures and shoutout to the conductor who helped get his dinosaurs back

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

"'I like videos. But I like my dinosaurs better because you can fix then, you can bath them, you can take them to bed. And best of all, you can say their names.'"

I was given this book as a gift when it was first published in 1999. I wasn't expecting anything, it was just an ordinary school day, and my Dad brought it back for me when he finished work. Ever since that moment, this book has always been synonymous for me with wonder and magic. I was really glad to have the opportunity to share it with my loving husband when I spotted Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs in the Oxford Central Library.
This is a really sweet wholesome story that speaks directly to something in the child that finds comfort in names. "He found out all the names in a book and told them to the dinosaurs. He spoke softly to each one." There's something whimsical and special about finding out the names of the dinosaurs. It's as if dinosaurs somehow belong to children because adults have lost their sense of wonder for these great prehistoric creatures. But children know the truth. That dinosaurs are awesome. Feeling consistent with a child's perspective, full of boundless unquantified love, reading this again transported me back to my childhood self.
A little boy called Harry discovers the dinosaurs in his gran's attic. He is immediately enchanted, and the dinosaurs take on an unstated sentience that never seems to require suspension of disbelief. "'Dinosaurs don't like boxes,' Harry said, 'They want to be in a bucket.'" Harry takes his dinosaurs everywhere with him in a bucket, until one day they are lost on the train. But his care in finding out all the dinosaurs names makes sure they find their way back to him.
This news story from last year reminder me of this book: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/..., and I will definitely be reading this to my little ones. I hope they enjoy it as much as I did.
"ENDOSAURUS"

[Clemmie Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

When helping Nan clear out the attic, Harry comes across a box of toy dinosaurs. He fixes them, cleans them and finds out all of their names (great for children obsessed with dinosaurs as all the names of them are in here!). Harry takes them shopping, to the beach, in the bath and to bed. Everywhere he goes, they are also. When Harry accidentally leaves them on a train, he learns that videos and TV can't replace the fun and friendship he had with his dinosaurs.
A great resource not only for educating children about dinosaurs but also harnessing their imagination, since the dinosaurs are alive in this story! It would be fun to ask children in classrooms to imagine what they would do if they had a bucket of dinosaurs, and make up their own stories of their dinosaur friends.

[Katie Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Harry finds an old box full of dinosaurs in it. He decides to clean them, repair them, and gives them each a name. Instead of carrying around the dinosaurs in the box, Harry carries them around in a bucket. And he literally carries them around everywhere, to the store, the garden center, the beach, the bath tub and even to bed. One day, Harry and his grandma went on the train and he accidentally forgot his bucket of dinosaurs on it. He was extremely upset and nothing his parents or grandmother got him to replace the dinosaurs seamed to make anything better. Later, Harry went back to the train station to see the Lost and Found man. The man questioned Harry asking him how did he know they were his. Without hesitation, Harry called out the names of all his dinosaurs and they all came back into his arms.

I thought that this book was just OK. It was pretty average and I did not get that into it. I did however, enjoy the inside cover pages of all the dinosaurs names and how to pronounce them. Anyone who loves dinosaurs would adore this book.

[Clwseattle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs* is cute. My grandson liked it. His dad wasn't crazy about it. I like that Harry is so tenacious about his newly discovered dinosaurs - he cleans them, repairs them, learns about them, talks to them, takes them everywhere ...

I don't know who "Sam" is or why she is there except to randomly pop up and to be a nasty person to young Harry. "Sam" is totally unnecessary and frankly ruins a cute story. It's possible there are previous "Harry"* books.

*The cover of Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs says it was published previous as Sammy and the Dinosaurs.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It highlights a young boy's imagination. I don't like the use of the word "stupid" in the book.

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

An adorably sweet tale of a boy and his dinosaurs. After loving the TV adaptation, I was excited to go back and read the original stories that inspired it. This book did not disappoint.

The first book introduces the reader to Harry and how he found the dinosaurs that he'd soon cart around in the book.

I loved the way the illustrations and narration played off each other. They really captured the magical relationship between the dinosaurs and their Harry. Such a cute story.

Also endpapers are lovely and provide the pronunciations of the dinosaurs featured.

A nice introduction to the characters. Definitely will be reading some of the other books to see what adventures they have together.

[GRAINNE]

A lover of dinosaurs will love this book. It comes with a one-page picture dictionary of each dinosaur. Useful for children who are reading it.

I would recommend this book for children aged 6-7. There's lots of sight words in there. Nan and her grandson Harry sort out the attic where Harry finds the wonderful treasure of a box of dinosaurs.

This book is ideal for sequencing as the story line is very clear and after Harry finds the dinosaurs, he takes them with him to the places where he goes.

There's also a section where the dinosaurs are lost and Harry goes with his Nan to the lost and found department at the train station. It is very relatable and a book that has been re-read my times!

[Read Ribbet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm never one to believe we need another picture book about dinosaurs, but Whybrow's book is less about dinosaurs and more about a character who self initiates creative play and learning. Harry is Whybrows recurring character and in this book discovery of bucket of old toy dinosaurs in his attic leads to Harry taking responsibility, finding new ways to engage in creative play, and learns about dinosaurs on his own. When the bucket is left behind on a bus, not even a new video eases Harry's loss. He solves his own crisis and shows the reader the importance of independence. The end pages do have illustrations of different dinosaurs, their names, and how to pronounce them.

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this story being read to a class of Y1 children. It's being used as the text to support English lessons about the ingredients of a story and the class used the book to make a recipe (with the who, where, when, what and 'feelings' as the ingredients of a story). It was chosen also to support this term's topic of dinosaurs. I was surprisingly moved by the story and the children enjoyed it a lot. Endosaurus!

[Zoe Hickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The children in nursery loved this book, one little boy was even able to correct me on how to say the dinosaur names! A lovely story about a small boy’s imagination. It also teaches children about if you lose something, don’t lose hope.

[Emma Higley]

Fairly simple plot, but this is a nice story to read with children, especially those who love dinosaurs themselves! There are also some nice moral messages about caring for and valuing your possessions.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both my 2 & 1/2 and 6 & 1/2 loved this book when i read it for snack time. The 2 & 1/2 wanted to read it twice more after hearing it at snack time. There are lots of teaching points in this book so it will be on our repeat list.

[Jacob Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still thinking about the bit when he leaves the bucketful of dinos on the train. Like imagine being on the Merseyrail and you look over and someone's left a bucketful of dinosaurs. Would send me pale that.

[stercz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very cute and charming story with nice pictures; the only issue I have is there are a few situations which are described too elliptically and need additional explanation (at least for my 3,5 y.o.).

[Melissa Namba · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very cute book that didn't talk down to kids. goes over real dinosaur names. love the dedication of Sammy.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

All right, that’s pretty stinkin’ cute.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story for dinosaur lovers of all ages! This will be fun for preschool storytime in Dinovember!

[Olivia S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute story about a kid who gets attached to some old dinosaur toys he finds. Will display during dinosaur storytime. 3+

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 5th one we have tried and neither I nor my 2.5yr old seem to particularly enjoy them. She didn't really want to finish this one even. It's just a bit blah

[Bärbel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a heartwarming story about a boy and his dinosaurs.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harry takes his bucket of dinosaurs everywhere.

[Lee Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun classic. 3/5 stars.

[Amita Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and beautiful , especially if you read it loud to the "Dino love" little ones.. :)