The Best Dinosaur Books For Toddlers (1-3 Year Olds)

Dinosaur Books for 1-Year-Olds

If you want to introduce dinosaur books to your 1-year-old, here are a few fun ones to start with. At this age, the focus is on engaging books with a dinosaur theme. So these are fun books that don’t necessarily teach them about dinosaurs, but they’re still great for dinosaur lovers.

That’s Not My Dinosaur* by Fiona Watt

This is a cute little touch-and-feel book that teaches babies about different textures. The book is short with simple text. It starts out with, “That’s not my dinosaur…its body is too squashy” and continues with other textures until the correct dinosaur is found. Even if your 1-year-old has no interest in dinosaurs, he/she will love That’s Not My Dinosaur for its textures.

Dinosaur Dance! by Sandra Boynton

This is such a fun board book for toddlers. Dinosaur Dance! includes a few different types of dinosaurs adding their part to the dance. 1-year-olds love these simple books because of the sounds that are included in the reading – like “shimmy shimmy shake” and “cha cha cha.” It makes for a quick, song-like read that’s perfect for any 1 year old. These funny rhymes will make for a good time reading.

Dinosaur Books for 2-Year-Olds

If you’ve read to your child for a while, he should start to get excited about reading around 2. This is also when they start to develop some of their own interests. So it’s the perfect time to bring those interests into reading.

These books will help teach your 2-year-old about dinosaurs without being so long and informational that their attention is lost.

Roar: A Dinosaur Tour by Michael Paul

This book includes many different kinds of dinosaurs, which I was slightly overwhelmed by at first. But not my son! He very quickly started to pick up on the dinosaurs that he wasn’t familiar with, asking me what each new one was as we read, and adding each one to his arsenal of dinosaur knowledge.

The story in Roar: A Dinosaur Tour is short and simple, but it goes through each of the included dinosaurs with colorful images. Quickly a favorite.

Dinosaurs: Touch and Explore

This is one of the fun, interactive dinosaur books that I found to be great for toddlers. Dinosaurs: Touch and Explore has a few different interactive elements for kids–like touch and feel, flaps to lift, and questions for a child to ponder for hours (or minutes) about the world of dinosaurs.

One of the features that sold me on this book is the highlight of the Microraptor. My son loves the show, Dino Dana, which now has him continuously referring to the Microraptor as a nuisance in our home.

This is a great book for young readers that your toddler will love interacting with.

Pop-up Dinosaurs: A Pop-Up Book to Get Your Jaws Into (Priddy Pop-Up) Roger Priddy

This book stands out for the pop-up feature. For a young children’s book, the graphics on the pop-ups are outstanding.

Pop-up Dinosaurs also includes fun dinosaur facts and activities on each page so this is one your child can get a lot of use out of over time. You can engage him with the pages in different ways each time you read–read the story, do the activities, or identify the images.

Little Dinosaur (10 Minutes to Bed) by Rhiannon Fielding

10 Minutes to Bed Little Dinosaur book cover

This is the most story-centered book on the list, which is a nice change of pace from educational and short board books. Ten Minutes to Bed Little Dinosaur follows Rubble, a young Triceratops as he avoids bedtime by having adventures. It’s a great, fast-paced story that will hold your young child’s attention even at a young age.

This book doesn’t identify the types of dinosaurs and my son likes to ask me what each one is. If you pick up others on this list that do identify the dinosaurs, it’s fun to speculate together what they may be.

Li’l-Gen Dinosaurs Sound Book: Clever Creatures and Boundless Beasts – A Land of Dinosaurs

This is the book that started my son’s obsession with dinosaurs. When he was 2, he loved pressing the buttons on this book and identifying the dinosaurs. (There’s also an option to buy the book with a mat and dinosaur figurines.)

Clever Creatures and Boundless Beasts – A Land of Dinosaurs is a big help in learning the correct pronunciation of dinosaur names. When we got this, my husband and I knew little about dinosaurs and struggled to pronounce their names. We quickly learned the correct pronunciation by hearing them from this book. It was the perfect introduction to dinosaurs for my son and all of us.

View the Full List of Dinosaur Books for 2-Year-Olds

Dinosaur Books for 3-Year-Olds

By the time your child is 3, they know a little about dinosaurs and can sink their teeth into some of these more educational books. As a bonus, they’ll continue to love the books you introduced to them earlier on.

Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur?: All About Dinosaurs (Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library) by Bonnie Worth

Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur? book cover

This is a fun book that’s primary purpose is education. Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur? is a sort of encyclopedia for very young children. This one identifies a decent number of dinosaurs and describes them in a fun Dr. Seuss way.

The thing that I love about this book is that the dinosaur names are written out to help you pronounce them correctly. Each introduction starts with a phrase along the lines of, “Can you say…?” which causes your child to answer the question by repeating the name.

This includes popular dinosaurs (like Tyrannosaurus Rex) and some less common ones (like Maiasaura). Your toddlers will quickly become familiar with those less common ones as you read this one to them. This book includes interesting facts that will help your toddler learn more about dinosaurs.

Stomp, Dinosaur, Stomp! by Margaret Mayo

This book has more of a storybook feel than many of the others on this list. Making it fun for both kids and adults to read. Stomp, Dinosaur, Stomp! brings many of the dinosaurs together in a rhyme that’s easy to fall in love with.

It’s catchy and engaging, with vibrant colors, and includes a list of pronunciations in case you’re unfamiliar with some of the dinosaurs and how to say their names.

Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs Giles Andreae

Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs book cover

3-year-olds can be all over the place. Lately, reading with my son hasn’t been the easiest experience. He has questions about everything and nothing seems to hold his attention. Except for this book. It’s a little on the longer side, but there’s so much action and adventure that there isn’t a moment for his mind to wonder. This was the first quiet read we’ve had in a long time.

Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs follows Flinn who falls through the back of the craft closet at school (Narnia style) and lands in a world with ships, pirates, and dinosaurs. If your 3-year-old is as busy as mine, this is the book for him. In fact, it’s so fun, that it’s engaging for kids of all ages.

Hello, World! Dinosaurs by Jill McDonald

This is another book with bright illustrations. Hello, World! Dinosaurs lists a number of dinosaurs, giving little bits of information about each. This one provides more information than some of the others. Bringing out relevant and little-known fun facts about certain dinosaurs. And it ends with a dinosaur roar.

It also references the fact that dinosaurs aren’t around anymore, pointing kids to dinosaur fossils and museums. It’s perfect for toddlers who are starting to explore the pages and ask questions.

Jurassic World – Look, Listen, Roar!

My son continues to love these sound books. His new favorite is this Look, Listen, Roar! book from the Jurassic World collection.

In this Jurassic adventure, your child will encounter a few of the dinosaurs from Jurassic World. My son doesn’t know what Jurassic World is, but that doesn’t hinder his understanding of the book. It includes the roar button for 6 different dinosaurs and a textured pad that is supposed to feel like the Triceratops’ skin. It’s pretty simple, but I like that it includes a few dinosaurs that we don’t often encounter – stygimoloch and apatosaurus.

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? Jane Yolen

Does your child thrash and whine when you try to put them to bed? This wonderful book has a clever way of teaching preschoolers to calmly say good night, just like a dinosaur. How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? includes different dinosaurs, names included. So when your child asks, “What kind of dinosaur is that?” The answer is on the page.

It’s a great way to teach a subtle lesson and grow their love and knowledge of dinosaurs.

View the Full List of Dinosaur Books for 3-Year-Olds

So there you have my pick for the best dinosaur books for toddlers. Pick these books up for your little dinosaur fan and keep your toddler engaged with reading. And to get back some of those precious moments when your child is sitting still on your lap.

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