The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas

Aaron has been into dinosaurs for just over a year now. The whole dino phase really took off around Christmas time last year. One of the books we borrowed from the library last year was "The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas" by Ann Mueke. He's been talking a lot about it this year as well because we got a copy of it.

For any family with dino crazy kids, this is a must read book for the Christmas season. Its all about a boy that sneaks into a museum on Christmas eve when all the dinosaur fossils come alive and have a huge party. The illustrations have all the details of the dinosaurs, yet are cute in a Chrismassy way. Apart from the great storyline and pictures, the best part about this book is the CD it comes with. The story is read and there are several very clever dinosaur Christmas carols.

Go here, to have a listen to some snippets of them. The ones from the book are Hey, Duck Bills!, Hark! The Pterodactyls Sing, The Allosaurus Chorus, Deck the halls with Stegosaurus and We Wish You A Dino Holiday.

My favourites is "Hark! The Pterodactyls Sing" because I've always liked "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". I like it not just for the tune but the clever way the words have been re-written. Here are the lyrics, why not try singing along as you read through this....

Hark! The Pterodactyls Sing
Flying high on reptile wing.
Down below them in a nest
raptor chicks await breakfast.
Rays of sunshine coax rebirth
From the Mesozoic earth.
Tiny bug and giant beast
'Wake to hunt a new 'morn's feast.
Hark! The Pterodactyls sing -
Wondering what the day will bring.

Diplodocids in a band
Stroll across the misty land.
Evergreen and fern so sweet
Fuel a thunderous march of feet.
spindly neck of Seismosaurus
Reach up to the roofs of forests.
Drooping heads of Dryosaurs
Pick new moss from forest floors.
Hark! The Pterodactyls sing -
Wondering what the day will bring.

Rushing through a thicket dense,
A Tyrannosaur, immense
Chases down a hapless prey -
Just in time it gets away!
A voracious appetite
Threatens creatures still in sight.
Silently they crouch and hide
Until T. 'Rex passes by.
Hark! The Pterodactyls sing -
Wondering what the day will bring.

'Deep beneath a rolling sea
'Pliosaurs dive gracefully
Searching for a seafood meal -
Trilobite or paleo-eel.
Far below, a shadow, looming -
Suddenly to surface zooming!
Mouth agape, a Mosasaur
Makes the divers head for shore!
Hark! The Pterodactyls sing -
Wondering what the day will bring.

Mama Raptor has come back
'With a tasty morning snack
Eagerly her hungry brood
Gobble up the baby food.
Far aloft, on graceful wing
'Pterosaurs, still hang-gliding,
Herald that the rising sun
Marks another day begun.
Hark! The Pterodactyls sing -
"'Day has dawned on everything!"

I'm now inspired to go dress all of Aaron's dinosaurs in Christmas outfits....