The Best Dinosaur Books for Kids

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Ready for the best dinosaur books that kids love?

Here’s what’s great about these books…Even kids with only a passing interest can learn to appreciate the wonder of these creatures of prehistoric times.

And if it’s not a passing fancy, this is one obsession proven to be beneficial long term for children.

While some of these books go into the science and history of dinosaurs, others are playful and fun — perfect for preschool and kindergarten ages.

For example, my own kids ADORED Jane Yolen’s HOW DO DINOSAURS series. Which has nothing to do with science or real life but lots to do with kids and behavior.

Which books will be your child’s favorite?

The Best Dinosaur BOARD BOOKS for Toddlers

(Scroll down for some fun dinosaur toy ideas for your toddlers!)

Dinosaur Touch and Feel
Touch the smooth horns and the bumpy scales then feel the sticky tongues.

My First Pop-Up Dinosaurs by Owen Davey
WOW! Each page opens to a sturdy, earth-toned pop-up dinosaur. The artwork is gorgeous, mesmerizing for readers because it POPS! Each of the 15 dinosaur names is written on the bottom right corner of the page as well as a phonetical guide to pronunciation for us clueless adults who don’t know how to say words like Coelophysis. (It’s SEE-lo-FIE-sis just in case you didn’t know.) One of the best first dinosaur books you could buy a child!

Hello, Dinosaurs! by Sam Boughton
Facts and flaps introduce readers to the coolest dinosaurs and interesting info about each. Dinosaurs like the Diplodocus who was as long as two school buses. Or the Triceratops who had between 400 and 800 teeth. Flaps, fold-out pages, whimsical illustrations, and handwritten text.

Baby T. Rex Finger Puppet Book illustrated by Victoria Ying
Help the blue Baby T. Rex be the biggest, baddest dinosaur ever. She stomps her feet and roars and roars but accidentally wakes up grandma. Whoops. What will Baby T. Rex do now? Well, it’s Baby’s bedtime so she’ll go to sleep.

My Big Dinosaur Book by Roger Priddy
Perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, this book provides information in colorful photos and simple text.

Rumble with the Dinosaurs: Discovery Kids Dinosaurs Sounds
Imagine hearing dinosaur sounds. Well, now you can with this fun book!

Stomp! Stomp! by Sebastien Braun
Look under the flaps to find dinosaurs hiding. Find the dinosaur and read along with the noise word — stomp, stomp, munch, munch, roar, roar. Sure to be a hit with dino-loving little ones.

Creature Features Dinosaurs illustrated by Natasha Durley
Colorful pages filled with dinosaurs! For each two-page spread, you’ll be asked to notice a particular feature of dinosaurs like horns, teeth, wings, beaks, armor, and more. Read the question that asks you to differentiate even further such as, “Which animal also has flippers?” or “Which creatures also have a long neck?” The dinosaurs are all labeled.

Tiny Dino by Deborah Freedman
Learn all about the characteristics of dinosaurs as you compare the little bird’s many features to those of a dinosaur. The plot is clever and the dialogue between the animals is playful and engaging.

The Best Dinosaur PICTURE BOOKS for Kids in Preschool & Elementary

We Are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner, illustrated by Ben Clanton

Laurie Berkner’s popular song is now a super cute picture book. As you read the song lyrics, follow along with Dax as he and his friends go exploring, marching, picnicking, napping, and roaring. Clanton’s animated illustrations with cartoon-like dialogue bubbles make these dinosaur friends inviting and friendly. Get ready to sing your way through this delightful book — it’s sure to be a new favorite. Added to: The Best Picture Books for Age 2.

We Love Dinosaurs by Lucy Volpin

We love dinosaurs — tall and small, with gigantic roars and snuffly snores — the book narrates. This is a charming introduction to the world of dinosaurs in gentle rhymes and colorful watercolor illustrations. “We love their spots and zigzags, too. Their colors — yellow, red, and blue.”

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague
You’ll read this aloud so many times, you’ll have it memorized. It’s a silly, very silly look at what good behaviors and not so good behaviors look like using your favorite dinosaurs. The entire series of “How Do Dinosaurs…” is wonderful!

Dear Dinosaur by Chae Strathie, illustrated by Nicola O’Byrne

Max writes the museum’s T. Rex a letter and he gets a slightly rude reply back. Not to worry, Max isn’t daunted. He writes back the T. Rex with more questions and the two begin a pen pal dialogue of funny and entertaining letters, some of which you can lift or open a flap to read. Dear Dinosaur is highly entertaining and engaging — don’t miss this gem of a book.

In the Past: From Trilobites to Dinosaurs to Mammoths in More Than 500 Million Years by David Elliott, illustrated by Matthew Trueman
Aptly-oversized to reflect many of the gigantic creatures within, these poems and gorgeous illustrations celebrate prehistoric creatures. Creatures like the weird-looking dunkleosteus or terrifying yutyrannus. Some of these creatures you’ll know, many will be new. The text is very accessible. Each creature includes their scientific name plus the geologic timeline in which they lived. SO cool, right?

“Meganeura
No birds yet.
Only you in the sky.
Meganeuropsis permiana:
the giant dragonfly!”

Tiny Dino by Deborah Freedman
Alligator and bird debate about which animal friend is a dinosaur — and in doing so, describe different dinosaur-inherited parts. They end with the conclusion that they are cousins! Their banter shares a fun way to think about animal traits with children.

Dinosaurs Don’t Have Bedtimes! by Timothy Knapman, illustrated by Nikki Dyson
An imaginative boy tries to school his mother about the dos and don’ts of parenting dinosaurs in this playful story. (Because everyone knows that dinosaurs don’t take baths or have bedtimes!)

The Wonderous Dinosaurium by John Condon, illustrated by Steve Brown
SO FUN! This boy wants a pet dinosaur from the Dinosaurium. In an introduction to different kinds of dinosaurs, each one he picks, he’s not happy with. Finally, he settles on a small, cute dinosaur that doesn’t eat as much as some of the others. A turtle! Or meiolania.

Three Little Dinosaurs by Charles Fuge
Scratch, Lofty, and Sniff are best friends who want to fly — and keep trying. Then they meet an enormous winged creature, Terry Dactyl, who gives them a ride on his back. Now they can fly!

Mad Scientist Academy The Dinosaur Disaster by Matthew McElligott
In this comic book, Dr. Cosmic is a kooky mad-scientist teacher to an unusual group of students: werewolf, bug-girl, vampire, robot, and others. He takes his students through an interactive exhibit on dinosaurs but can the students can stay safe? Lots of dinosaur facts throughout.

If I Had a Dinosaur by Alex Barrow and Gabby Dawnay
A young girl knows all the reasons having a dinosaur for a pet would be the best. Kids will be sure to nod along at all her reasonable reasons.

I Want That Love by Tasuya Miyanishi

In the harrowing prehistoric world, the Tyrannosaurus believes that the strongest is best. Until when he’s old and wounded, he meets baby Triceratops who show him kindness and Tyrannosaurus shows love in return. This beautiful story will make you think about what is best and kindness to others.

Mamasaurus by Stephan Lomp
Babysaurus can’t find his Mamsaurus so he asks other dinosaurs he meets if they have seen her. The dramatic black background makes the colorful dinosaurs pop in this sweet story about a Mamasaurus who was really there all along.

T. Rex Generations by Ted Rechlin (ages 8+)
In a graphic novel with realistic, dramatic illustrations, readers follow a T Rex family from the birth of hatchlings all the way to their adulthood, or at least the adulthood of those infants who survive. Life is dangerous even for the top predators — it’s an eat or be eaten world. Kids won’t be able to put down this well-done illumination of the Cretaceous period filled with action and drama.

The Best NONFICTION About Dinosaurs

Dinosaur A – Z by Roger Priddy
This book is AWESOME — colorful, engaging, and fact-filled. It’s a must-own for any dinosaur lover.

You Can Be a Paleontologist! National Geographic Kids by Scott D. Sampson, Ph.D.

Each section of information begins with a question like “How do you find fossils” then answers the question using text, photographs, and informational insets. Dinosaur fans will be excited to learn just how scientists find, store, study, and figure out more about the dinosaurs they study — all from the bones. Clear information with enticing photographs make this an excellent choice for dinosaur and science enthusiasts.

Dinosaurs By the Numbers by Steve Jenkins

A eye-catching illustrated book of interesting facts and figures about dinosaurs. The well-designed layout will appeal to kids who will enjoy the timelines, charts, infographics, and numbers.

Ultimate Dino-Pedia Second Edition by “Dino” Don Lessem, illustrated by Franco Tempesta
What first struck me about this incredible dinosaur tome, is the incredible illustrations of dinosaurs that aren’t skeletons. Kids who are interested in dinosaurs can see what they actually looked like including all 600 of the species in this book. Along with the illustration, each dinosaur page shows how to pronounce their name, facts, and information, often with photo inserts of bones and paleontologist reports. The back of the book includes a dino dictionary listing names, meanings, geological age, where it lived, fossils, length, and group. It’s incredible!! Kids who love dinosaurs NEED this book. It’s the one-stop field guide to everything dino.

Dino-Mite (Science with Stuff )by Sarah Parvis

Will the fossilized dino poop entice you to read this book? It just might help you turn the pages to learn more about dinosaurs. The book is well-organized and informative with full color, glossy pages and kid-friendly layouts making it a good choice for elementary school dinosaur fans.

Dinosaur! by DK
Starting with Triassic life and continuing to Cretaceous and Cenozoic, discover the timeline of the dinosaurs and important facts about each. The photo-realistic illustrations will make your child think they’re actually seeing the real creature, not just the bones from a museum.

You Can Be a Paleontologist! National Geographic Kids by Scott D. Sampson, Ph.D.

Each section of information begins with a question like “How do you find fossils” then answers the question asked using text, photographs, and informational inserts. Dinosaur fans will be excited to learn just how scientists find, store, study, and figure out more about the dinosaurs they study — all from the bones. Clear information with enticing photographs make this an excellent choice for dinosaur and science enthusiasts.

Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist by Linda Skeers, illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens
Perfect in every way, this appealing biography recounts Mary Anning’s beach discoveries of the first dinosaur bones –fossilized ancient creatures that no one had ever seen before. Even though women weren’t invited into the scientific community at the time, she continued her exploring and learning. Pretty illustrations and fantastic writing with impressive sentence variety.

Walking with Dinosaurs The 3D Movie Encyclopedia
Images from the movie accompany information about dinosaurs, paleontologists, and the movie. Great for both movie fans and budding paleontologists.

Magic Tree House The Graphic Novel Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne, adapted by Jenny Laird, illustrated by Kelly & Nichole Matthews (GRAPHIC NOVEL)
Hands down, one of the best graphic adaptations of a novel ever! Even kids who have read the novels before will love rereading the books in graphic versions. In this first story, brother and sister Jack and Annie, find a magical treehouse filled with books. Jack begins a book on dinosaurs when he wishes that he could travel to see them, they do! Annie befriends a flying dinosaur and the siblings help save baby dinosaurs before they return home.