Five Green Dinosaurs

Counting down from five gives this picture book its spine, with a dinosaur leaving the scene each time the rhyme comes round again. Katie Button's verse keeps a steady beat that small children pick up quickly, and Lindsey Sagar's illustrations give each dinosaur a distinct shape and colour, so the number on the page is easy to match to what is being said. The repeated structure means a child who has heard it twice can often join in on the last line, which is how early counting and rhyme recognition tend to take hold. Reasons to pick it up: • A countdown from five that ties numbers to something on the page. • Repeating rhyme patterns that invite children to chime in. • Friendly dinosaur characters drawn by Lindsey Sagar. • Short enough to finish in one sitting with a restless listener. Aimed at toddlers and preschoolers, at parents reading aloud and at nursery classrooms working on early numbers; published by Imagine That Publishing and sold by Boipoka.