Dinosaur Train Books Review...

CELEBRATE THE GREAT AMERICAN BACKYARD CAMPOUT INITIATIVE WITH DINOSAUR TRAIN AND PENGUIN YOUNG READERS GROUP

"Join the Dinosaur Train Nature Tracker’s Club for FREE for fun activities to enjoy while camping out!

DINOSAUR TRAIN’s “Buddy” supports “The Great American Backyard Campout” initiative, organized by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), started on June 23. The campaign is devised to remind parents and children the importance and benefits of spending time outdoors.

“Nature,” as part of childhood, has changed to not having much nature in it at all.  The NWF provides some interesting facts about just how much times have changed, and the implications of spending less time outdoors.  Did you know for example:

•       Children are spending half as much time outdoors as they did 20 years ago. (Juster et al 2004); (Burdette & Whitaker 2005); (Kuo & Sullivan 2001)

•       Today, kids 8-18 years old devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes using entertainment media in a typical day (more than 53 hours a week).(Kaiser Family Foundation)

•       In a typical week, only 6% of children ages 9-13 play outside on their own. (Children & Nature Network, 2008)

•       Children who play outside are more physically active, more creative in their play, less aggressive and show better concentration. (Burdette and Whitaker, 2005; Ginsburg et al., 2007)

•       Sixty minutes of daily unstructured free play is essential to children’s physical and mental health. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2008)

•       The most direct route to caring for the environment as an adult is participating in “wild nature activities” before the age of 11. (Wells and Lekies, 2006)

Be a part of the NWF’s “Great American Backyard Campout” and set an example for children that will get them excited about the great outdoors!  

You can participate in the campaign by registering for FREE at http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Great-American-Backyard-Campout.aspx.   The website provides FREE helpful information to make your camping experience a fun one, including campfire recipes, nocturnal wildlife guides, campfire songs and games, nature activities and much more.

Buddy and the clan from Dinosaur Train want to ensure you’ll have some extra fun during your campout with these latest books from Penguin Young Readers Group.

In Dinosaur Campout, (pictured at the top of this post) The Pteranodon family is going on a campout! This adorable 8 x 8 is perfect for a first camping trip or night away from home. (SRP: $3.99).

And in Ride with Buddy, Buddy introduces readers to his friends and family on the Dinosaur Train. This Level 2 reader is perfect for young fans who are starting to read on their own.

And don’t forget to download Dinosaur Train’s Nature Trackers Club Guide Book, available here, filled with fun activities that you can also enjoy during your campout.  The Dinosaur Train Nature Tracker’s Club is a community of young children, their families and educators committed to learning about nature and doing good things for their environment.   Nature Trackers enjoy exploring and having adventures, respecting their environment, collecting things, tracking and observing plants and animals, and challenging themselves to get outside and make discoveries every day. When you have completed all four activities in the Guide Book, simply mail in the form provided in the download and receive an official Nature Trackers member token!"

What we thought:  The kiddos really enjoyed the latest titles from the Dinosaur Train series of books. A especially enjoyed the Level 2 reader, "Ride with Buddy" since she is reading on her own now:)  Both titles were lots of fun and are requested quite often during our daily read aloud time.  It is very important to get our families out into nature and we'll take all the help we can get from Buddy and his friends from the Dinosaur Train:)
ABCD Diaries gives these books an A+!   

Disclosure:  ABCD Diaries was given samples  for review purposes only. We were in no other way compensated. The opinions expressed in this post are ours and ours alone.