From little dinosaurs to not so little dinosaurs! (Number of Dinosaurs, A - Paul Stickland)

Member Name: Ann-Marie_B

Product:	Number of Dinosaurs, A - Paul Stickland
Date:	05/06/09 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Teaches counting skills

Disadvantages: Quite simple. Pop-up elements could be torn

My little boy is just one and a half, yet he is already a typical young boy and absolutely adores dinosaurs. He will often emit his best growling sound upon the mere sight of one. When his grandparents therefore came to visit one day with a new book all about dinosaurs, he was quite simply in his element!

A Number of Dinosaurs by Paul Stickland is a pop-up book which focuses on counting up to ten. However this book does so in a way that I have never seen done before.

The text throughout this book is very simple indeed. We begin with "one little dinosaur" and then "add one more makes two little dinosaurs" and so on until we reach the number ten.

On each page is not only an illustration of that particular number of dinosaurs but also a pop-up number. The number one is relatively large yet simple. As we move onward each number is not only a bigger number but is also physically a bigger pop-up number. This nicely depicts the difference between small numbers and large numbers and their increasing size as we count. When we reach the number four there are also dinosaurs peeping over the pop-up number and each one gets not only larger but more interesting. When we reach the number seven it is not only the top half of the number which pops up but also the bottom half, allowing for more room. On the very last page, the number ten is quite simply huge! It depicts a number of cheeky dinosaurs peeking around it and also states "ten!" at the foot of the pop-up.

I really do adore this imaginative concept of depicting the size of numbers through the physical appearance of the number. As aforementioned it is something which I have never seen done in any children's book prior to this one.

My little boy is amazed by this book and I have the comfort of knowing that as well as being fun, it also has a great educational benefit which he will come to understand more as he grows. I do however have to be rather careful as at his tender age of one and a half he is a little heavy handed and will grab at things which attract his attention. The pop-up elements throughout this book are rather delicate and could easily be torn by younger children.

A Number of Dinosaurs by Paul Stickland has an RRP of £10.99, though it is currently available at the slightly reduced price of £9.89 from Amazon.

ISBN: 1-85714-364-7

Summary: From little dinosaurs to not so little dinosaurs!