Dinosaur Books for Kids: Toddlers, Preschoolers and Early Readers

The best dinosaur book matches the child’s reading stage. Toddlers want sturdy board books with rhyme, such as How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? Preschoolers love first fact books with one dinosaur per page. Beginning readers can try Danny and the Dinosaur, an I Can Read Level 1 book, and first graders move on to Dinosaurs Before Dark.

Dinosaur books by age and reading stage

Dinosaur books for kids fall into four stages, from books an adult reads aloud to books a child reads alone. Publishers print an age range on most children’s books, though editions of the same title can differ.

Dinosaur board books for toddlers

Dinosaur board books for toddlers have thick pages that survive chewing and short, rhyming text. Reach Out and Read, the program that hands out books at pediatric checkups, gives board books at the newborn and early infant visits, and its guidance reminds parents that it is normal for babies to put books in their mouths as they explore them.

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?, written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Mark Teague, is a well-known pick. Northshire Bookstore lists the board book edition from Blue Sky Press, a Scholastic imprint, at 34 pages for ages 2 to 4. Dinosaur children yawn, fuss and toss their toys before bed, and each dinosaur’s name is hidden somewhere on its page. The book belongs to the How Do Dinosaurs…? series, with titles such as How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?, so a fan can collect more.

Dinosaur fact books for preschoolers

Dinosaur fact books for preschoolers answer the questions 3- and 4-year-olds ask: how big, what did it eat, could it fly. National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs, by Catherine D. Hughes, gives each spread to one dinosaur with short text in large type, plus interactive features and tips for parents. Franco Tempesta did the art. Penguin Random House lists the 128-page hardcover, published in 2011, for ages 3 to 7, and Hughes has written other titles in the same Little Kids First Big Book line, including space and ocean books.

A fact book pairs well with a figure of the child’s favorite species. Our dinosaur toys hub covers realistic figure makers, so the T. rex in the book can sit on the shelf beside it.

Dinosaur books for beginning readers

Dinosaur books for beginning readers use short sentences and familiar words so a child can read alone. Danny and the Dinosaur, written and illustrated by Syd Hoff and first published in 1958, sits in HarperCollins’s I Can Read Level 1 line for children learning to sound out words. Booksellers list it at 64 pages for ages 4 to 8. Danny meets a dinosaur at a museum, and the two spend the day playing games such as hide-and-seek.

Sequels follow at the same level, including Danny and the Dinosaur Go to Camp, so a new reader can go straight on to the next one.

Dinosaur chapter books for first and second graders

Dinosaur chapter books for early grades have short chapters, a picture every few pages and a story that moves fast. Dinosaurs Before Dark, by Mary Pope Osborne with illustrations by Sal Murdocca, is the first Magic Tree House book, published by Random House in 1992. Jack, 8, and his younger sister Annie find a tree house that takes them back to the time of dinosaurs, and they have to find a way home before nightfall. Penguin Random House lists it for ages 6 to 9, grades 1 to 4. Page counts differ between printings.

A kid who finishes it can carry on with the rest of the Magic Tree House series. For a dig-it-yourself follow-up, the dinosaur dig kits guide covers fossil kits for the same age.

Giving a dinosaur book as a gift

A dinosaur book is an easy add-on to a bigger present, and a good choice for a child who already has every figure. Write the date and a short note inside the cover. Pair a board book with a soft toy from our dinosaur plush guide, or add a book to a present from dinosaur gifts for toddlers or gifts for kids 6 to 12. Every idea by age is on the dinosaur gifts hub.