BookBairn really loves dinosaurs! She's fascinated by their different sizes, shapes and colours. And one of our local bookshops has po...

First Explorers

Tuesday, August 01, 2017 BookBairn 10 Comments

BookBairn really loves dinosaurs! She's fascinated by their different sizes, shapes and colours. And one of our local bookshops has pocket money toys and she always chooses a new wind-up dinosaur. On a recent day of torrential rain I was crazy enough to brave the weather and go to the shops to get BookBairn new shoes and to spend my book token on something for me. But you won't be surprised that I also picked up something for BookBairn!

I figured it was raining so 1000 stickers wouldn't go wrong! So we chose a dinosaur sticker book to go with the latest in the collection of dinosaurs and then I saw a book I just couldn't resist. We love Campbell books for toddlers - they are bright and brilliant - and I love their 'First Stories' series. And when I saw this book and realised that they have a new series called 'First Explorers' I had to pick it up!

First Explorers: Dinosaurs by Campbell Books with illustrations by Chorkung is a truly fascinating first information book. Each page features several dinosaurs with a short statement about the dinosaurs that are starring on that particular page. It also has bullet points asking questions and adding additional facts in a way similar to non-fiction books aimed at older children do. But one of my favourite parts is that each page has a little 'Can You See?' list with the names of the dinosaurs (meaning I have to use my phonics knowledge and sounding out skills to pronounce!) and a little illustration. It turns the page into a little game.

The illustrations in this series are absolutely brilliant! So colourful! And whilst there are several dinosaurs chosen to feature on each page the illustrations reveal so so much more! The dinosaurs manage to be cute without being cutesy and the sharp teeth and claws are fierce looking without being threatening. The illustrator has found a really good balance. I would certainly look for more work by this illustrator now that I have found the name hidden on the back.

But the part that really gets little ones engaged is the interactive paper mechanisms that they have to push, pull, slide and turn to reveal baby dinosaurs inside their eggs, or long-necked dinosaurs reaching above the treetops, or spinning fish into a dinosaurs open jaws, or (the best part) making T-rex's teeth chop by opening and closing them! BookBairn can't get enough of these mechanisms! She loved them in the First Stories books too. And similarly they are super sturdy and pretty indestructible (depending on how rough your children are but these are pretty strong in comparision to other books of a similar style). My only criticism of these books is that they are only four pages long and I'd love more! But at £4.99 they are such a bargain!*

You can see how much fun BookBairn has with this one in the videos below.


There is a whole series of books like this - Night Animals, Sea Creatures, In the Jungle, My Body, Brilliant Bugs and Astronauts - and I can see us collecting a few more! I particularly like the sound of Brilliant Bugs and would like My Body as we don't have many books on this topic yet. (Let us know of any good ones that are age-appropriate). I mentioned on my social media accounts recently that there are a lot of good new non-fiction books out for toddlers and preschoolers at the moment and I have promised a blog post sharing these soon. But in the meantime I have collated all the ones I have reviewed in the past under the label 'Fantastic Non-Fiction' and you can find them all by clicking here.

Happy fact-finding little explorers,
Mummy and BookBairn xx






*DISCLAIMER: I shelled out the £4.99 myself!

10 comments:

  1. This is a great book and BookBairn just loves getting the T Rex to chomp on Mummy's finger. The others in the series sound good too. Think I might like the Astronauts one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've just updated the post to include a little video of her getting the T-Rex to chomp on my finger! And yes the Astronaut one sounds great for our wee sciencebairn - it would suit this T-shirt better!

      Delete
  2. I just watched the videos. Great fun and I love the t shirt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for packing it in your suitcase! x

      Delete
  3. My kids are all obsessed with stickers!! Definitely a good way to keep them entertained in all this rain we're having. Thanks for sharing with #readwithme

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely! Though we've had a lovely week in Scotland this week! No stickers required!

      Delete
  4. Campbell make some gorgeous books for toddlers, I love the look of this dinosaur one #readwithme

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love Campbell books and the 'First' ones are just brilliant!

      Delete