Children's bookclub: Never Ask A Dinosaur to Dinner by Gareth Edwards and Guy Parker-Rees

[RachelMumsnet]

A cautionary tale which will guide you safely through the perils of dinner, bath time and bedtime - helping you to snuggle down for a lovely sleep, free from dinosaurs, tigers and sharks.

Illustrated by Giraffes Can't Dance author Guy Parker-Rees this is a very funny bedtime read. If you'd like to read and review or discuss on this thread and on twitter, apply for a free copy

DS has this book - bought it a few weeks ago. He loves it, and goes to sleep giggling. He adores anything to do with dinosaurs, and animals, so absolutely ideal bedtime story for him. Love the illustrations too.

PS - MN - you might want to add the k to Ask :)

We have this book too. DS finds it hilarious.

We also love The Disgusting sandwich by same author. Lots of yuckiness!

Dinosaurs are my little boy's absolute favourite at the moment so I know he'll love this book. :) Have applied for a copy.

This giveaway is now closed. We will notify those who have been selected to receive a copy via email. We would love to hear your thoughts, so please continue to discuss the book on this thread.

Some interesting and engaging illustrations of counting sheep, a dinosaur devouring a table of food and a shark in the shower like some Damian Hirst exhibit and a beaver making a bird's nest pond/wash basin. The rhyme had a good pace, albeit with slightly odd grammar sometimes. I read it to my 3 year old daughter and it raised lots of why questions - oh joy!

We love this book. There is lots of silliness which my 3 year old enjoyed. I liked the rhyming which is always a pleasure to read. Also DS loved the pictures and it seems this book is already a favourite!

An appealing picture book with bright, colourful illustrations and entertaining rhymes to accompany them. My ds now wants the wash basin to be used to house extra large fish and a beaver. He also rather liked the idea of a similarly 'cute' barn owl in terms of a future pet. He is rather animal obsessed though. Words like 'never' and 'don't' just encourage him.

I showed dd2 this book and her response was I dont want it take it to work. This isn't any reflection on the book more on dd2

I did take it to work and read it to the children there and they all loved it.

The book was bright and cheerful and very lively. The illustrations were vivid and creative and I liked the fact it introduced new animals to my daughter (e.g. a bison). Like nushcar I found some of the grammar/the way the rhyme scanned a little odd in places. But overall a fun read.

While agree that the rhymes are a bit clunky, both my kids 4 and 8 have asked for this as their bedtime story this week. The pictures are great.

Phew, not just me being unable to rhyme then

DD1 really enjoyed this. She was able to remember the reasons for not choosing each animal. Agree with CheeseTMouse that it was nice to have a new animal introduced.

Thanks for the book. We will look out for 'The Disgusting Sandwich' one now.

We very happily received this book (thank you!). I would echo others posters' thoughts that the rhyming in this book is a bit tenuous, and that as the reader you have to be on your toes to make sense of the story in places.

On the plus side, there are some lovely illustrations and unusual animals to discuss. The absurdity of the scenarios also appealed to my children's sense of humour.

We are very glad to have this book - but I wouldn't rush out to buy it, or give it to friends as presents. There just isn't enough in the book for it to become a future classic.

Interesting the comments about the rhyming. Because that is one of my favourite aspects of the book. I find the rhyming scheme really imaginative and funny, very Lear-like. And I LOVE the illustrations. I've given it as a gift to a couple of families who loved it too.

Hello! Thank you for my free copy of "Never Ask A Dinosaur To Dinner". It came as a welcome surprise as I never received a message to say I'd won a copy! Nevertheless, I really enjoyed reading this book with my son!

I admit that even as a poet and avid reader, I tripped over the words a few times but by now I am a pro at reading this story with my son! ;) I think the pictures are really colourful and creative. It's a fun read. I think the repetition on each new rhyme (Please don't share your toothbrush with a shark/Really, please don't share your toothbrush with a shark) reinforces the comic message and adds an engaging element for the child to repeat the second line whilst having the story read to them.

I have found my son sitting quietly by himself looking through the pictures of the book so I know he likes it. I would recommend it as a fun bedtime read!

My little boy adores this book as it has illustrations of all his favourite things - dinosaurs (of course), sharks and tigers.

But the best thing is, it reinforces how wonderful bedtime can be when you snuggle down with a teddy and start to count sheep as you enter dreamland – always a welcome lesson for little people who won't always give in to sleep that easily!

Thanks again for sending us a copy, we love it!

Thank you for our copy of the book.
My little boy enjoys the story and is fascinated by the different animals. We have read it lots of times and although it is tricky to get the rhymes right sometimes, we have laughed as we have read it.