Ten Minutes to Bed: Little Dinosaur

Rhiannon Fielding

Chris Chatterton

Ladybird, 2022

28pp/. board book., RRP $A14.99

9780241532676

Magical creatures live in the Land of Nod, but each of them is not keen on going to bed because they are having too much fun.  But sleep they must if they are to be ready for more fun tomorrow and so using rhyme and enchanting illustrations, author and artist take both the characters and the young reader on a calming countdown to bedtime leading them gently to the land of sleep.

This time, it is Little Dinosaur who wants last adventure but as the minutes tick by, he finds himself going deeper and deeper into the jungle until he is lost. Even the appearance of a mob of much larger, older dinosaurs doesn’t deter him until the shadow of one in particular looms ominously close…

 With its rhyme which flows naturally, stunning illustrations and the countdown, it is perfect to share to settle even the most un-sleep-ready child as they learn that even the creatures they love to dream about have to sleep sometime.  It contains all the elements that little ones associate with the dinosaur world, including an erupting volcano, and they will love to identify the various dinosaurs that come out of the valley en masse.  Who belongs to those large grey legs? 

And this new board book format means that little hands and heads will be able to read it again and again and it will stand up to the wear and tear. Definitely a series for the youngest readers to collect.