Module 2: Florian Poetry – Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings

Florian, Douglas. 2009. Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN-10: 1416979786 ISBN-13: 978-1416979784

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, and Dinosaurs! Eighteen to be exact with some you will recognize, like Tyrannosaurus Rex and some you might not know, like Giganotosaurus. Become the paleontologist, a dinosaur expert, and discover dinosaurs like you have never seen them before - with factual information - while reading entertaining poetry.

Douglas Florian has done it again with his pleasurable, engaging writing and illustrator’s talent in this book about dinosaurs. Dinothesaurus offers poems that are fun to read using several different rhyming schemes that should definitely be experienced by reading aloud; however it can also be enjoyed through silent readings. The first poem is about the beginning of dinosaurs, the next eighteen covers different types of dinosaurs, while the last poem is the extinction of the dinosaur era. Florian also included a Glossarysaurus at the back of the book with scientific information on each dinosaur featured in this book. Dinosaur Museums and Fossil Sites are also added at the end, with websites that are good for looking up added information and places to go and see some dinosaur specimens. Be sure to check out Dinosaur National Monument’s website. www.nps.gov/dino Children will enjoy the poems while learning factual information about a species that is always entertaining and sometimes scary, exclusively in a new way through poetry.

Douglas Florian must have had a good time illustrating his book by combining extinct dinosaurs with present day, adding a variety of pictures like a cell phone, iPod, computers, museum building, clothing, newspapers and more. The illustrations for this book were done with gonache, collage, colored pencils, stencils, dinosaur dust, and rubber stamps on printed brown paper bags.

Tyrannosaurus rex
Ty-ran-oh-SAW-rus REX (king of tyrant lizards)

Some forty feet long.
Some fourteen feet tall.
Its back limbs were strong.
Its front limbs were small.
Its eyesight was keen.
Its hunger voracious.
This creature was seen.
In times called Cretaceous.
Its jaws were horrific.
Its profile distinct.
I find it terrific
That it’s T-rex-tinct.
(Florian, pgs. 14-15)

Dinothesaurus offers the perfect pairing of poetry awareness with science. The children will enjoy having fun reading about dinosaurs while learning facts about these interesting extinct animals. There are enough dinosaurs for each letter of the alphabet. I would have the students work in groups of two and pull two letters from a hat. After writing poems with their chosen letters they will then use Florian’s style of artistic illustrations to make dinosaur poem posters to display in our room and around the school. They will also include factual information to tie into the science study. Additionally, we will have a dinosaur alphabet book to add to our classroom library and to share with other classes.