Introduction:
“Dinosaurs Travel: A guide for families on the go“, written by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown, is a wonderful book for young students exploring the many different aspects of traveling. The book is a great resource for young children to learn many important facts and tips about traveling. Each page is filled with important information as well as crammed with interesting, helpful pictures, covering a wide variety of topics.
Summary:
This story is a compact guide for families when they are getting ready to travel, as well as while they are traveling. The story covers important topics such as getting ready for a trip, getting from place to place and all different modes of transportation, as well as eating and sleeping away from home. Important tips are given throughout the books on things to do and not to do when traveling. For example, when visiting a new place:
“No matter where you travel, it will be different from home. Here’s your chance to try all kinds of new things!”
“Bring maps and guidebooks with you and ask for directions if you get lost.”
“Some places you visit will give you a chance to speak a new language.”
The story covers many different ways of traveling, such as on foot, using wheels, by car, riding the bus or subways, as well as by planes and boats. These different modes of transportation discussed help children learn about different geographical characteristics of a specific place. The language of the story is very simple and pictures are very descriptive, yet the information given on each page of the story is extremely important and helpful for young students to learn.
Curriculum Connections:
This story is important to be read by students who are beginning to learn about travel, or who are preparing to take a trip.The book also helps students understand basic uses and skills of maps, including basic references to land, water, cities, and roads (VA SOL1.4 (a)). Students begin to also understand differences between their home and other places, specifically referring to food, clothing, language, shelter, and transportation (VA SOL 1.6) from reading this book.
Additional Resources:
1. This website provides a song from an education music player. The song provides an interesting way to learn detailed information about planet Earth, including Earth’s composition and other geographic information. The song begins “Our Earth is like a giant Grapefruit..” and tells a lot about the make up of our planet.
2. National Geographic’s website for kids, “Amazing Animals,” explores many different geographic concepts , equipped with intense photos and information about all different animals, including bats, tigers, spiders, etc.
3. This website provides 101 car travel games and tips for kids to use while they are traveling. Some examples listed are creating a travel journal, car sick trips, and games such as “Pirates of the the Caravan.”
General Information:
Book: Dinosaurs Travel
Author: Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 1988
Pages: 32
Grade Range: 1-2 grade
ISBN: 978-0316112536