The Dinosaur's Diary

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The children started to talk about what was happening, particularly when they discovered some extraordinary teeth and fossils. I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him). When Hypsilophoden discovers her new surroundings she is very timid and scared of this new place. She soon discovers that she doesn't need to be afraid as others are now afraid of her. Hypsilophoden still needs some guidance from her unknown surroundings and finds some friends with local swallows. They help her along her journey and find her a safe and secure place to lay her eggs, although, due to her naivety they have some laughs along the way! Each child was given a library card so they could return, and in the days that followed they wrote many new stories for the library before it mysteriously disappeared. Although not before making every child a lifelong member! I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books.

The Dinosaur’s Diary - Julia Donaldson

They met the guardian of The Lost Lending Library, who told them about its travels and how it jumps from place to place driven by the imagination of young people. La historia bien narrada y entretenida; solo me molestó un poco que la autora fuera tan cuidadosa en aclarar que la protagonista no conocía los objetos "hechos por humanos", pero de repente se le pasan algunos y, espontáneamente, no hay necesidad de aclarar qué es qué (por ejemplo, en el tractor). Lo que yo esperaba era que Henrietta le explicara qué era qué, pero ella tampoco tenía mucho cómo conocer los nombres (dejando de lado que haya aprendido a echarlo a andar). The story happens to the learner – they are protagonists, their feelings are as much part of the story as the characters they encounter.This is a story written from the point of view of a dinosaur called Hypsilophodon. She desperately wants to have babies, but is terrorised by some of the bigger, more aggressive dinosaurs. This means she’s not able to have babies where she currently lives, because the more predatory dinosaurs eat her eggs for dinner. Prehistoric: Dinosaurs, Megalodons and Other Fascinating Creatures of the Deep Past by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld & Julius Csotonyi & The Smithsonian Museum

Dinosaurs topic books for EYFS, KS1 and KS2 Dinosaurs topic books for EYFS, KS1 and KS2

A really enjoyable story for a younger reader. The story explores the adventures of H, a dinosaur who finds a magic portal to our world where her children are born. The story is brilliant to explore new experiences, feelings and how important it is to support others. We were recently inspected by Ofsted and they talked about the pupils feeling inspired in their learning. For my seven year daughter, who loves dinosaurs and all things cute, it was a five star book, as its full of dinosaurs and especially full of cute baby dinosaurs. She found it funny and fun to read and really liked the diary format. It was pitched just right for her to both read aloud to me and to read to herself. Immersive learning has its roots in immersive theatre. This invites the audience to move through a theatrical world as active participants. I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs.

In all cases, immersive learning values the expertise of children. With The Lost Lending Library it is the children who restore the books and stories to the shelves. I think the age range would be from 7-9 year olds although early years could enjoy to this through class reading sessions. We learned about it eight years ago when the charity Punchdrunk Enrichment led a whole-school immersive learning project. Before Malcolm and I had our three sons we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta. Involve colleagues – once you have devised your immersive learning project, let everyone know what you’re planning. It’s important everyone is engaged and can respond correctly to children’s questions.

Julia Donaldson on Apple Books ‎Julia Donaldson on Apple Books

When I was a child I went to a lecture about dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, and was amazed to learn that most of them were not giants but about the size of a hen or a cat.The Dinosaur’s Diary is about one of these small creatures, who lives in perpetual terror of T Rex and the like. I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married. Pupils’ work helps propel the narrative forward – learning is positioned as a chapter in an unfolding story.