Lollipop and Grandpa's Dinosaur Hunt by Penelope Harper and Cate James
| Lollipop and Grandpa's Dinosaur Hunt by Penelope Harper and Cate James | |
|
| |
| Category: For Sharing | |
| |
Reviewer: Margaret Young
 | |
| Summary: Most people hunt for sea shells at the seaside. But Lollipop's Grandpa isn't most people. He takes a rather ordinary day at the beach and turns it into a magical adventure to be remembered and treasured for a lifetime. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: May 2013 |
| Publisher: Phoenix Yard Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1907912269 | |
|
Share on: | |
|
| |
Lollipop's family settles in for a day at the seaside, but it just so happens, that they are also on the Jurassic Coast. Of course the dinosaurs have died out millions of years ago... or have they? Grandpa says they haven't really disappeared, they are just very good at hiding, so the pair set off on a quest to finding the missing dinosaurs.
This where the illustrator's talents come into play. The illustrations show every day things, likes shadows on a cliff, a digger at work, stairs, tree branches and and electricity pylon, but with a bit of imagination these all turn into wonderful creatures from another time. Lollipop and her Grandpa spot a Diggero-Docus, a Stair-go-saurus, A Try-see-the-tops and a Pylon-a-Saurus Rex. These are really not very well hidden and even a very young child will be able to make them out easily, which I am quite sure is the point, but if you look very carefully into the cliffs - you just might spot a few more creatures yourself.
There a is a story worked into this, with just a little bit of adventure, but nothing to frighten even a very young child. The back of the book also has a few facts about real dinosaurs. There is also just a nice warm feeling reading this book as it shows a truly magical relationship between Lollipop and her Grandpa. I feel the best thing about this book though, is that it encourages children to look at their surroundings in a new way. After reading this book, children can go on their own nature walk and use their own imagination to find dinosaurs, animals or whatever else they would like to hunt for. If you give a child a camera, they could take pictures of scenery, print them up and then draw their own dinosaurs into the pictures. This is quite a fun book with lots of possibilities.
The only drawback to this lovely story is that it does lose something with repetition, especially for older children. The magic of discovery isn't quite as fun when you've already seen the dinosaur hiding in the cliff several times, but I do believe this would be less of an issue for younger children. I've taken a half star off for this, and think I would be happier buying this for a younger child, but even my eight year old enjoyed it the first time, and four year old thought it was brilliant. While he may not listen to it over and over at this age, I think if we had bought this a couple of years earlier it would have been really been a smash hit. Additionally, this has provided us with inspiration for art projects, as well as just encouraging imagination and fun outdoors, so this is a book I am very happy to recommend to parents with young children. Although it most certainly not the intended use for this book, I would also very strongly recommend this for art teachers or home educators as artistic inspiration, for older children or even teenagers armed with a camera and a trip to the woods, sea side or even a park. It is a good book just to be read at story time, but ever so much fun if it inspires your own adventure.
We can recommend:
Alphasaurs and Other Prehistoric Types by Sharon Werner and Sarah Nelson Forss
I Am Not Sleepy And I Will Not Go To Bed by Lauren Child
Don't Invite Dinosaurs To Dinner by Neil Griffiths and Peggy Collins
Please share on: 
Facebook, 
Twitter and
Instagram
You can read more book reviews or buy Lollipop and Grandpa's Dinosaur Hunt by Penelope Harper and Cate James at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Lollipop and Grandpa's Dinosaur Hunt by Penelope Harper and Cate James at Amazon.com.
Comments
Like to comment on this review?
Just send us an email and we'll put the best up on the site.
