The “How Do Dinosaurs…” series of books are hands down Jackson’s favorite books ever. We’ve checked them out from the library so many times it’s not even funny, and we’ve finally decided to start buying them all because he never gets tired of them! Mr. Garland and I never mind reading them over and over either, which is a rare feature in a book that Jackson loves.

Jane Yolen is an extremely well-renown children’s book author, who has written over 3oo books! The “How Do Dinosaurs” books are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Yolen’s work – looks like Jack and I have a lot of reading to do! Yolen writes children’s books, fantasy, and science fiction, and is also a poet, a teacher of writing and literature, and she reviews children’s literature.

Jane works with a variety of different illustrators for her books, but the common theme is that her books have colorful, engaging, and not-too-cheesy illustrations and all of her books have a very distinct feel to them. Yolen utilizes rhymes a lot in her books, and all of the books I’ve ever read from her are rhyming (though I’m sure she has some that aren’t)

I’m going to highlight some of our favorite Jane Yolen books and series, as well as a few other books from her that we haven’t tried yet – if you haven’t read any of her books yet, I cannot recommend them enough! If you want more details, you can see a list of all of her children’s books here.

Jane-Yolen

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“How Do Dinosaurs…”

Target age: 2+
Board book, 40 pages

There are 17 books in the “How Do Dinosaurs…” series, and we love every last one of them that we’ve read so far! Our favorites are How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and How Do Dinosaurs Stay Safe?. Most of these books follow a similar format – a rhyming pattern is used and the first half asks “How do dinosaurs (fill in the blank)?” and lists a bunch of ways that it shouldn’t be done. Then, it talks about how dinosaurs actually do whatever the theme of the book is. For example, in the “Goodnight” book, we learn that dinosaurs do not slam their tail and pout, and they don’t whine and cry, but they sweetly say goodnight, turn off the light, and go to sleep. It’s a really great way to practice some basic important skills and when Jackson is misbehaving we often remind him that he’s not acting like a dinosaur. He loves the books and will request them every single night if we have them in our house from the library!

Animal Train
Target age: 3+
Board book, 14 pages

This one is different from a lot of Yolen’s other books – it’s a lift-the-flap book, which is something she specifically states on her website that she usually stays away from. However, she shares that this book was created at a time when she had young grandchildren and was spending a lot of time reading baby books. This one is adorable, appeals to a lot of young kids (who doesn’t love trains?) and is very engaging!

Baby Bear’s Chairs
Target age: 2-5 years
Hardcover, 40 pages

We actually checked this book out of the library not realizing it was a Jane Yolen book, and it was one of our favorites that we got that week! There are several other Baby Bear books in Jane’s list of works, so we’ll have to check the other ones out as well! This one is a really cute bedtime story about a little bear who talks about the different members of his family. It’s really sweet, and the rhyming pattern always seems to calm Jackon right down when he’s acting wild before bed.

Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters
Target age: 3-7 years
Paperback, 32 pages

Jackson is obsessed with monsters, so this is one I definitely want to try with him! It features adorable and whimsically drawn monsters getting ready for bed. We love any books about bedtime because it’s a great way to help Jackson wind down a bit, and the illustrations in this book are incredibly adorable.

Not All Princesses Dress in Pink
Target age: 3-8 years
Hardcover, 32 pages

I love the message in this book – not all little girls are frilly and love wearing pink! Like most of Yolen’s books, this one is a rhyming book, but this one is unique in that she wrote it with her daughter!

 

Have you read any of Jane Yolen’s books before? Which is your favorite?