1st June International Dinosaur Day

The third Tuesday in May is also International Dinosaur Day, but  Dinosaur Day on the first day of June is easier to remember. It is s a celebration of dinosaurs, the prehistoric creatures that roamed the earth millions and millions of years ago. These animals went extinct somewhere in the region of 65 million years ago 

May 7th May is Australia’s National Dinosaur Day. On this date in 1903, William Ferguson found a partial dinosaur claw along the Cape Patterson shoreline in Victoria. This theropod claw was the first dinosaur fossil found in Australia.

It doesn't really matter when you celebrate dinosaurs, because with the age group I teach, 3 to 8 year olds dinosaurs are always popular and we could have dinosaur books on display permanently! They are even popular with the girls. When they read about Mary Anning they are so keen to tell you that it is okay for girls to like dinosaurs. Mary Anning  was only twelve years old, when she discovered the first complete ichthyosaur skeleton and she spent the rest of her life searching out fossils that helped change humans' understanding of prehistoric life and natural history. Sadly, because she was a woman, she was rarely credited for her critical discoveries, and only in recent years have her wide-ranging contributions received the recognition they deserve.

There are so many picture book biographies about Mary now. The library has:

• Stone Girl Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning by Laurence Anholt and Sheila Mosley

• The Fossil Girl: Mary Anning's Dinosaur Discovery by Catherine Brighton

• Mary Anning by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Poppy Marigot

• Dinosaur Lady by Linda Skeers and Marta Alvarez Miguens

• Fossil Hunter: How Mary Anning Changed the Science of Prehistoric Life by Cheryl Blackford

• Mary Anning: Fossil Hunter and Dinosaur Expert by Kay Barnham

If you don't have any of these, perhaps you can find:

• Gutsy Girls Go For Science: Palaeontologists by Karen Bush Gibson and Hui Li

or this picture book biography

• When Sue Found Sue:Sue Hendrickson Discovers her T-Rex by Toni Buzzeo and Diana Sudyka

As a child, Sue Hendrickson was shy, but she had a knack for finding things: a unique combination of curiosity, determination, and luck that helped her find everything from perfume bottles to lost coins. As an adult, she sought out adventure, first as an underwater archaeological excavation diver, and then as a field paleontologist. One summer in South Dakota, Sue spotted three backbones in the dirt... and discovered that they were part of the largest and most complete T. rex skeleton ever found! 

There are so many picture books that feature girls and dinosaurs too:

• If I Had a Dinosaur by Gabby Dawnay and Alex Barrow

A little girl dreams of having her very own pet. As she plays with her toy dinosaur, inspiration strikes. What about a real, live dinosaur?

• The Girl and the Dinosaur by Hollie Hughes and Sarah Massini

When Marianne visits the beach, she digs for buried treasure — and the treasure she discovers is a real life dinosaur skeleton. After naming her skeleton Bony, Marianne wishes it would come to life, and to her delight, Bony responds.

• We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan Higgins

Penelope Rex is startled to discover her classmates are all children, so she does what comes naturally... and eats them. Children are delicious, after all! 

• The Dinosaur Expert by Margaret McNamara and Brian Karas

Mr. Tiffin's class is visiting the natural history museum, and dinosaur-loving Kimmy is thrilled! She is excited to share facts about Stegosaurus and Archaeopteryx and Titanosaurus... until one of her classmates sneers that "girls aren't scientists."

• Hattie and Hudson by Chris van Dusen

Hattie McFadden loves paddling her canoe out on the lake every morning, singing a song as she goes. One day, though, a huge mysterious beast emerges to listen to her song!

• My Dinosaur  by Mark Alan Weatherby 

Every night a little girl waits by her window for her friend the dinosaur, and when he comes, they play in the woods all night until the sun comes up.

• Katie and the Dinosaurs  by James Mayhew 

Entering a door at the Natural History Museum marked "No Admittance," Katie finds herself in the world of the dinosaurs. She helps a baby dinosaur find his family, rides on the back of a Brontosaurus, and has a picnic with a Triceratops. But just what will she feed a very hungry Tyrannosaurus Rex?

• Frankie and the Fossil by Jess McGeachin

Frankie knows everything there is to know about dinosaurs. But when she ignores a sign at the museum and is followed home by a friendly fossil, Frankie finds there's more to dinosaurs than she ever imagined.

• Tea Rex; Camp Rex; Santa Rex and Sea Rex by Molly Idle

These three books feature Cordelia and  her Cretaceous comrades.

• The Dinosaur Department Store  by Richard Merritt and Lily Murray

Eliza Jane was an unusual child. Some called her wilful, some called her wild!  She has her heart firmly set on a prehistoric pet.

and some short novels

• Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst and Lane Smith

• Ivy and Bean Fossil Break the Fossil Record by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall

• Lila's Little Dinosaur by Hanel Wolfram and Alex deWolf

• Thing and Thingnapped by Robin Klein and Alison Lester

Yes I know I have only written about girls and dinosaurs and boys love dinosaurs too. There are many more dinosaur picture books here that feature boys. If you need to settle an argument as one of our preschool teachers did, this is a good book to start a discussion:

• She Rex by Deborah Allwright and Michelle Robinson

Ed won't let his sister Maisy share his toys. He says. "Dinos are for boys." But he hasn't met She Rex. She Rex is a big and burly, multicoloured dino girly. She's as fierce and as loud as any dinosaur. Look out, Ed - you may just discover that dino toys are for girls and boys.