Dinosaur Roar! - Book Review

Dinosaur Roar was not a picture book I has come across before and yet it was originally published back in 1994; the book is now available in a new paperback and board book versions endorsed by the Natural History Museum.

With our recent visit to the Lost Kingdom, both girls are very much into dinosaurs at present and so they enjoyed reading this story with me.  Holly is just starting to want to try and read herself so she had a go at some of the words - she certainly recognises the word "ROAR"!

Dinosaur Roar is written by Henrietta Stickland and illustrated by Paul Stickland and is a fun rhyming picture book that features some interesting opposites.  Not just your normal big/small thinfat type of opposites but also slightly more unusual opposites that made the girls ask questions such as fierce/meek or spiky/lumpy.

Both of the girls giggled when we got to the end of the story and all of the dinosaurs were munching their lunches.

The new edition of Dinosaur Roar! features brightly coloured illustrations and a special pull-out poster of all the featured dinosaurs that you can put on your wall and talk to as you read; it's a great opportunity to get the girls thinking about what they are listening to by asking them questions where they need to find the dinosaur answers on the poster.

I thought Dinosaur Roar! was a great rhyming story book with a gentle but fun rhythm that has huge appeal.

Paultons Park - The Lost Kingdom

This weekend we were treated to a preview of The Lost Kingdom, the new dinosaur themed area of Paultons Park in Hampshire.  We had an absolutely AMAZING day at the theme park and Lara and Holly were both so taken with the Lost Kingdom that they couldn't wait to go into school and nursery this morning to tell everyone about it.

If you have a dino-mad child in your family then the Lost Kingdom is definitely for you; it opens to the public on the 17th May and it's a perfect place for a fun family day out suitable for little people right through to adults.  In this dedicated area of the park you'll find prehistoric themed rides, eateries and models galore. Life-size dinosaur models are dotted around the park and they are incredibly real - some move, some make noises.  If you keep your eyes peeled you may even get a chance to "meet" a live Tyrannosaurus.

The highlights of the Lost Kingdom are two great family rides for thrillseekers big and small.  Lara and Holly are both now tall enough to ride on pretty much all of the rides at Paultons Park although they are still a bit too extreme for Holly.  But Lara, who isn't yet 7 years old, couldn't get enough of the dangling rollercoaster - the Pterasaur, or the exhilerating Velociraptor ride, both of which were more than thrilling enough for me and Mr. B!

Holly enjoyed the far more tame Dinosaur chase which is a mini rollercoaster designers for slightly less intrepid explorers.  She also spent a lot of time enjoying the playground which has a gorgeous soft bouncy flooring, lots of space to run around in, and a covered sandpit where you can dig for fossils.

As a family we took a ride with the Dino Tour Company through displays of dinosaurs, some of whom squirted water at us.  Lara thought it was hilarious... Holly thought it was terrifying (although she talks fondly of it now).  On the tour Holly earned her Rangers License and got a lanyard to wear it; one of many photo opportunities in the Lost Kingdom and throughout the park.

Of course, Paultons Park is also home to Peppa Pig world where toddlers can enjoy rides with Grandpa Pig, George's dinosaur, Grandad Dog's cars and lots more.  But today Lara and Holly were much more keen to explore the slightly more grown up rides on offer at the Lost Kingdom.

I have a funny feeling that this area of Paultons Park could be even more popular than Peppa Pig world.  It really does make the park appealling for children of all ages which makes it a fabulous day out and definitely worth the money as everyone gets to ride on more or less everything.  The only thing Paultons still need to work on is their food and drink, even in this new area of the park I felt the food was a bit of a let down in terms of quality and choice.  Thankfully the park includes a lot of beautiful manicured gardens in the shade where you can enjoy a family picnic together.

At the end of a thrilling day the girls chose to cool down with a trip to the water park where they both got absolutely drenched!  If you visit on a sunny day, don't forget to take swimmers with you so that you can cool down in the water.