Learning about dinosaurs with What’s So Special About Dinosaurs?

The other week four-year-old Big Girl told me she’d unwrapped a T. Rex-tooth.

She was thrilled.

The tooth was one of the props dinosaur fan and expert Nicky Dee had brought along to her dinosaur talk, and for Big Girl, who right now wants to become a dentist, the tooth was a clear winner.

Nicky Dee herself changed careers to write children’s books about dinosaurs full-time, and in addition to writing books she visits schools and runs the What’s So Special About Dinosaurs Club, which is free to join online.

I first heard about Nicky Dee when she had a book launch at Great Little Trading Company in autumn, and when Big Girl met the author I had given her enough money to buy a book after the engaging talk.

Big Girl returned home with a book on Triceratops dinosaurs, part of Nicky Dee’s series of dinosaur books, designed to be a crossover between picture books and encyclopaedia-style reference titles. The bright book features comparisons that children can relate to and it’s a nice resource to have at home for when the children are learning about dinosaurs in school.

The books are also written in child-friendly language, making them good for young readers. In fact, for children who like dinosaurs I can see the books, which each focus on a different dinosaur, being great for encouraging independent reading.

The dinosaur facts in the books are verified by multiple award-winning palaeontologist Dean R. Lomax, and the collection of eight books will this year be expanded with new books on the Velociraptor, the Maiasaura, the Brachiosaurus and the Spinosaurus, and a book telling the story on how palaeontology began – The Bone Wars.

In the meantime, I’ve signed us up for the What’s So Special About Dinosaurs Club? and I’m now receiving emails with colour-in sheets, quizzes and games.

Perfect for a thirty-something–and our four-year-old!

Tags: Book, Dinosaurs, Education, Nicky Dee