What the Dinosaurs Did the Night Before Christmas

by Refe Tuma, Susan Tuma

Overview

From the creative parents that brought us the internet sensation "Dinovember" and the bestselling book What The Dinosaurs Did Last Night comes this hilarious reimagining of the classic Christmas poem!

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a...dinosaur?! In the third installment of this series, a whole houseful of overly jolly Jurassic wild things get up to all kinds of holiday mischief: tipping trees, smashing gingerbread houses, swinging from garlands, and more! Will they wreck the halls and end up with coal in their Christmas stockings, or is a Christmas miracle in store? Full-color photographs bring the not-so-silent night to life!

Don't miss the dinosaurs' other misadventures!
What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night: A Very Messy Adventure
What the Dinosaurs Did at School

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316539654
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/26/2021
Series:	What the Dinosaurs Did Series , #3
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Refe and Susan Tuma began photographing their dinosaurs’ adventures in 2012, creating Dinovember—the month when plastic dinosaurs come to life—and igniting the imagination of children young and old across the word. They live in Illinois with their four children, Boris the dog, and, of course, the dinosaurs. They are the authors of the bestselling and award-winning What the Dinosaurs Did picture-book series. For more information and fun activities, they invite you to visit them online at dinovember.com.
 

Editorial Reviews

Praise for What the Dinosaurs Did the Night Before Christmas:
 

“A fun-to-read, rhyming book that kids will enjoy…a nice addition to Christmas picture book collections.”—School Library Journal

Praise for What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night: A Very Messy Adventure:
A Bank Street College Distinguished Children's Book
A 2017‑2018 Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee
 

* "The Tumas have much to answer for, as this album will join the many like scenes they have posted online as a record of their annual family "Dinovember" celebrations which are already, no surprise at all, spawning fans and similar outbreaks of disorder in other locales. The authors may well have created a monster with this deliciously chaotic notion."—Kirkus, starred review

"Filled with whimsy and imagination, this book will delight children of all ages... Detailed photographs will keep kids turning the pages and parents enjoying the rockling dino antics."—School Library Journal

"...successfully captures the wonder, exasperation, and secret admiration provoked by these terrible lizards’ terrible behavior."—Publishers Weekly

Praise for What the Dinosaurs Did at School:
 

"The Tumas' neon photographs of toy dinos draped in spaghetti, bouncing on soccer balls and
devouring library books are mini‑masterpieces of creativity."—USA Today

"The husband‑and‑wife team of "Dinovember" fame pose their plastic dinosaurs with props and use perspective masterfully to stage their scenes.... Better add plastic dinosaurs to the shopping list‑kids will want in on the fun."—Kirkus Reviews

"Amusing and fun, students who love dinosaurs will devour this book."—School Library Journal

"The compositions are excellent, the props adorable... and the hyperbolic narration sustains a fever pitch."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

11/01/2021

PreS-Gr 3—A child goes to sleep on Christmas Eve, excited about what the next day will bring. The child hears noises in the house, goes to investigate, and finds dinosaurs who are pretending to be Santa and his reindeer. The child believes it is Santa bringing presents, until realizing the visitors are destroying the Christmas tree and gifts. This book is a mash-up retelling of "Twas the Night Before Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The images consist of mixed-media illustrations and pictures of plastic dinosaurs in various scenes, a combination that makes the scenes come alive throughout the book. Readers might surmise that the protagonist is telling a story with what looks like taped pictures in a homemade book. The narrative can get a little confusing on first reading. Still, this is a fun-to-read, rhyming book that kids will enjoy. VERDICT A nice addition to Christmas picture book collections.—Dorinda Brown, High Plains Community Schs., Polk, NE

School Library Journal