About the Holiday

Yesterday for Read a New Book Month, I shared the amazing encyclopedic An Animal a Day, which introduces children to the vast diversity of animals that populate our always-astonishing Earth. Today I’m highlighting another book in this series that takes readers back millions of years to meet dinosaurs both small and mammoth. These books—one or both—make perfect gifts that will keep on giving throughout the year for kids to dip into by themselves or to share with adults.  

A Dinosaur a Day: 365 Incredible Dinosaurs to Take You through the Year

Written by Miranda Smith

Illustrated by Jenny Wren, Juan Calle, Xuan Le, Max Rambaldi, and Olga Baumert

What kid wouldn’t like to share their birthday date with a dinosaur? Or learn about the “tyrannosaur tyrants” whose descendants included the fearsome favorite Tyrannosaurus Rex? Or be able to impress their friends and teachers by rattling off the names and details of such dinos as the Huehuecanauhtlus, the Aepyornithomimus, or the Eustreptospondylus? All of these are easily—and enjoyably—accomplished with this day-by-day walk through prehistoric times.

Image copyright Jenny Wren, Juan Calle, Xuan Le, Max Rambaldi, and Olga Baumert. Text copyright Miranda Smith. Courtesy of Bright Matter Books.

Before kids dive into the year, they can learn a bit about early life on Earth, events leading to the rise of the dinosaurs, and the three time periods that ushered in (and out) the wide variety of dinosaurs and other reptiles the earth has hosted. Readers also get a quick primer on fossils and discover other creatures, including lizards, insects, and mammals who coexisted with the dinosaurs.

Getting to the meat of the book, readers find short, info-packed paragraphs about each dinosaur along with the particulars of its period, family, diet, length, weight, and where fossils have been found. Children can also see what these dinosaurs looked like with the lifelike drawings accompanying each entry.

Image copyright Jenny Wren, Juan Calle, Xuan Le, Max Rambaldi, and Olga Baumert. Text copyright Miranda Smith. Courtesy of Bright Matter Books.

Fittingly, on January 1 when the year is new, dino-dreamers are introduced to “one of the earliest and smallest dinosaurs”—the Eoraptor, a carnivorous beast that weighed only 22 pounds and measured three feet tail to snout. A special two-page spread spanning January 10th through the 15th describes six more of the smallest, including the feathered and gliding Microraptor at just two pounds and two feet long, the Saltopus, which hopped to nab insects from the air, and the Wannanosaurus that defended itself with its “hard, flat-topped skull.”

Image copyright Jenny Wren, Juan Calle, Xuan Le, Max Rambaldi, and Olga Baumert. Text copyright Miranda Smith. Courtesy of Bright Matter Books.

Jumping from the beginning of the year to December 31, readers meet the Ruyangosaurus, which “moved through the floodplains and forests of what is today’s China” in herds, “their long necks swaying as they reached for and snipped off the leaves and branches of the trees and shrubs at all levels.” In between kids encounter all of their well-known favorites as well as some truly unusual multi-horned and -spiked specimens; mammoth long-necked herbivores; underwater beauties; those with features that seem to mirror future animals, such as the Concavenator, which has humps along its back similar to a camel; and almost comical-looking dinos like the Nomingia, whose feathered body and peacock-like fan at the end of its tail looked almost Dr. Seussian. 

Image copyright Jenny Wren, Juan Calle, Xuan Le, Max Rambaldi, and Olga Baumert. Text copyright Miranda Smith. Courtesy of Bright Matter Books.

Following the year’s end, Miranda Smith discusses what brought about the end of the reign of the dinosaurs, the survivors of this disastrous event, and the relatives of those once-dominating creatures: today’s birds. Each month also includes two two-page spreads that group together some dinosaurs according to a shared trait—duck-billed dinosaurs, sea reptiles, dinosaur weaponry, and Tyrannosaur tyrants—for example. A pronunciation guide to dinosaur names, a glossary, and an index wrap up this comprehensive encyclopedic look at the world of dinosaurs.

Image copyright Jenny Wren, Juan Calle, Xuan Le, Max Rambaldi, and Olga Baumert. Text copyright Miranda Smith. Courtesy of Bright Matter Books.

Miranda Smith presents each of these 365 dinosaurs with scientific facts and fascinating tidbits about the behavior, appearance, environment, defenses, and eating habits, among other things that will satisfy kids’ curiosity and perhaps send them digging to learn more. Her text is clear, comprehensible, and a pleasure to read for a wide age range, from the youngest dinosaur aficionados to the adults who share this book with them.

Show-stopping illustrations from Jenny Wren, Juan Calle, Xuan Le, Max Rambaldi, and Olga Baumert will wow readers with their careful attention to details and dynamic poses. Horns, feathers, spikes, teeth, claws and other features are clearly delineated. You can almost hear these dinosaurs roar at rivals, thrash through underlying vegetation while on the hunt, or call to their herd mates. Full-page illustrations place dinosaurs in their natural environments, where they drink from clean water, butt heads over territorial disputes, raise their young, or ply the depths of oceans in search of food.

Any dinosaur buff would be thrilled to add to their knowledge of these endlessly fascinating creatures with A Dinosaur a Day. The book is sure to be a favorite go-to read on home bookshelves and for public and school libraries.

Ages 6 – 9 and up

Bright Matter Books, 2024 | ISBN 978-0593903339

Read a New Book Month Activity

Hatch Your Own Dinosaur Eggs

Think there are no more dinosaur eggs to be found? Think again! You can make your own with this easy craft that will have you hatching some T.-rex-size fun! All you need are a few simple ingredients – and don’t forget to wear an apron or old clothes!

Supplies

• Old clothes or apron
• Large box of baking soda (makes between 6 and 8 eggs)
• Food coloring
• Water
• Plastic dinosaur toys
• Bowl
• Fork
• Spoon
• Wax paper
• Baking sheet
• Foil
• Vinegar
• Spray bottle (optional)
• Plastic or metal spoon, stick, popsicle stick, or other implement to chisel with

Spray the egg with vinegar to hatch your dinosaur

Directions

1. Wear old clothes or an apron
2. Cover work surface with wax paper, parchment paper, newspaper, or other protection. Food coloring can stain some surfaces
3. Pour baking soda into the bowl
4. Add drops of food coloring in whatever color you’d like your eggs to be. The eggs will darken when baked.
5. Mix in the food coloring with the fork. You may want to use your hands, too
6. When the baking soda is the color you want it, begin adding water a little at a time
7. Add water until the baking soda holds together when you squeeze it in your hand
8. When the baking soda is the right consistency, spoon some out into your hand or onto wax paper
9. Push one plastic dinosaur into the middle
10. Cover the dinosaur with more of the baking soda mixture
11. Carefully form it into an egg shape
12. Repeat with other dinosaurs

Chisel the egg open to hatch your dinosaur

To Bake the Eggs

1. Set the oven or toaster oven to 200 to 225 degrees
2. Set the eggs on a baking sheet lined with foil
3. Bake the eggs for 15 minutes, check
4. Turn the eggs over and bake for 10 to 15 more minutes
5. Remove from oven and let cool

To Hatch the Eggs

1. Eggs can be hatched by chiseling them with a spoon, stick, or other implement
2. Eggs can also be hatched by spraying or sprinkling them with vinegar

You can purchase A Dinosaur a Day at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (to support your local independent bookstore)

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