Saurus Street series by Nick Falk and Tony Flowers
Random House, 2013. pbk., ill., RRP $A12.95
Saurus Street 1: Tyrannosaurus in the Veggie Patch. ISBN
9781742756554.
Saurus Street 2: A Pterodactyl Stole My Homework, ISBN9781742756561.
Saurus Street 3: The Very Naughty Velociraptor,ISBN 9781742756578.
Saurus Street 4: An Allosaurus Ate My Uncle, ISBN 9781742756585.
(Age 5-70) Children love dinosaurs. The dinosaur collection was the
largest of my nonfiction section when I was library-based, and it
was the section most visited by my youngest readers. It took very
few visits for them to know where it was and search it
independently. A recent visit to the National Dinosaur
Museum with Miss 6 and 60 Year 1 classmates showed that
the interest has not waned, (and the theft of one of the dinosaurs
overnight just added to the excitement). They were able to get their
tongues around all those names without a hitch - even the
second-youngest little person in my life can point to a picture and
say, T-Rex. Of course, this is not new - we know that students
constantly ask for books about dinosaurs so to be able to offer them
a whole series of them that not only satisfy their interests but
also supports their developing reading skills is bliss-on-a-stick!
This could be the trigger that moves the reluctant reader along to
independence because they WANT to read the stories for themselves.
In the first book, Tyrannosaurus in the Veggie Patch, Jack wishes
for his own dinosaur but you can imagine his surprise when a live
one turns up in his vegetable patch! Much as he would like to keep
it, this soon proves impossible so he and his friend Toby build a
time machine to send it back to the Cretaceous period. Trouble is,
they end up going too! And so the adventures start... In the other
books in the series, Sam, Susie, Tom and Tam all have their very own
encounters that would be the envy of the readers, as well as
teaching them a little at the same time.
The humour is perfect for this age and speaks of an author that
knows just what appeals. The format of these books is perfect for
that 5-8 year old group with a large font which is interspersed with
other interesting fonts that really help that inner voice develop
expression and interest. Short sentences help carry the story along
at a fast clip and the vocabulary is really well-chosen. The speech
of the characters is age-appropriate but there are still technical
words used as well as figurative language that will really appeal.
The story is accompanied by engaging illustrations which contain a
lot of movement and humour and really support the text - there has
been a lot of thought put into their design and placement. Even
though each book is over 100 pages long, the choice and balance of
fonts, illustrations, and chapter lengths make them very accessible
to their target age of K-3. I have three six-year-olds in my life
and I know what is going to be the in-demand bedtime story when they
come to stay these holidays.
Barbara Braxton