Dig Dig Dinosaur by Professor Anjali Goswami, illustrated by Maggie Li

Good read-alouds for toddlers and preschoolers seem to get harder and harder to find, and it's been a while since I've seen a really good dinosaur book for this age group - the last I can remember is Susan Lendroth's Here we go digging or dinosaur bones. 

A cheery group of round-faced, smiling children of different races are shown on the cover, examining fossils, maps, and tools and surrounded by die cut holes in the stiff paper over board cover. The endpages shows colorful outlines of dinosaurs against a pink background. The three children start the story by collecting their tools and giving the story a ring of "We're going on a bear hunt" with the beginning of the story. "We're going on an expedition to a faraway land... We hope we find something REALLY big!"

"Dig! Dig! Dig!" proclaims the text against a colorful background, facing a page of fossils, cacti, and glimpses of more fossils through die cut holes in the page, which also has a die cut edge. Hints give readers a chance to guess at the dinosaur. Turn the page, and it's a velociraptor fossil. A further page shows an artist's depiction of a purple velociraptor and a few simple facts about the dinosaur. The book continues with a triceratops, tyrannosaurus, and diplodocus and ends the book with a double fold-out page of a bright orange diplodocus.

Verdict: This is a sure winner for storytimes and little dinosaur fans and librarians will want multiple copies. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9798887770796; Hardcover/Lift the flap $16.14 on Baker and Taylor

Published July 2024 by Nosy Crow; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library