The Dinosaur Seed

by Lindsey Yankey

Overview

An ordinary rock leads to a spectacular adventure!

When a group of kids find an ordinary rock on the playground, anything can happen. "It's a dinosaur seed!" Flora declares. Wyatt and Cece immediately catch on, and the three kids plant the seed and wonder what it will grow into, building on each other's ideas. But Victor is confused. "Rocks don't grow," he says. "Even if you water them." Before he misses out on their adventure, the friends help Victor find his own way into the game.

Inspired by the improv concept "yes, and . . . ," The Dinosaur Seed captures the creativity and authentic voice of kids left to their own devices. The individual personalities of Cece, Flora, Wyatt, and Victor shine as they dream a boring rock into a spectacular adventure together, modeling cooperative, inclusive play.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798889830337
Publisher:	Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
Publication date:	05/20/2025
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.25(w) x 11.25(h) x (d)
Lexile:	AD510L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Lindsey Yankey studied illustration at the University of Kansas. She is the author-illustrator of Bluebird and Sun and Moon and the illustrator of My Grandma and Me and My Father's House by Mina Javaherbin. She lives in Lawrence, Kansas.

Editorial Reviews

"Rereads are definitely necessary—the pictures reveal something new every time. Sure to inspire many a flight of fancy." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2025-05-30
An ordinary day at the playground in the park turns into anything but when a group of imaginative kids meet up.

G-pa gives Cece 10 more minutes to play, but what a 10 minutes they are! At first, Cece slides and swings on the monkey bars but gradually turns to the group in the foreground: three children—Flora, Victor, and Wyatt—by a tree, one of whom has just found a “dinosaur seed” (in actuality, a rock). After cursory introductions, each of the children put their own spins on the imaginative interlude—a spooky robot, a hot lava tree—except Victor, who hangs on the periphery watching insects and insisting that rocks don’t grow…until Flora lends Victor a pair of binoculars that help the previously skeptical youngster see a gigantic dinosaur bug. One spaceship ride later, the kids gradually shed their pretend play to help the spooky robot, aka G-pa, catch his dog. As the older man listens to the kids recount their adventure, he comes up with a quest to occupy Cece on their walk home. Yankey’s characters wear bright colors and patterns that pop against the sepia backgrounds. As the children’s imaginations take off, the pages fill with color that again leaches out as they return to reality. G-pa and Cece are brown-skinned, and the supporting cast is diverse. Rereads are definitely necessary—the pictures reveal something new every time.

Sure to inspire many a flight of fancy.(Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews