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When I first saw this book, I had to have it – the main reason is because of my son. He has been obsessed with dinosaurs since he first saw Jurassic World at 3! (Ps I tried really hard to keep him away from the movie. 👌🏼) Now I am a sucker for all things dinosaurs. 🤷🏻♀️ I can’t help it. I love dinosaurs because HE LOVES DINOSAURS! 🥰
Ok back to this awesome book! DINO DEEGAN AND THE UNPLEASANT CLASS is one of my favorites! Heather Robyn is an author to several books, Dino Deegan being just one. Her website to check out her books is heathererobyn.com.
Dino Deegan was written for and in regards for her dinosaur loving son. 🥰 He, like Dino Deegan, needed a friend.
My obsession with the illustrations done by Zoe Mellors is huge! The idea to have Dino Deegan be gray was just perfection! Sometimes kids need visuals to understand.
You can see the sadness all over Dino Deegan in this picture. It is the perfect way to show how your sadness affects your whole self.
Dino Deegan is having difficulty making friends at school. He is scary to the others. His class isn’t being very nice to him. A new person, Cass, reaches out and befriends him. She helps the others see how hurtful their words are. ❤️
Cass represents the sweet friend who was there for the author’s son. ❤️ What a sweet story of friendship to share with the world. ☺️
I BEYOND LOVE watching Deegan get more colorful through the story! It really is my favorite part of the book! I just love this story and the happiness that grows throughout it. I also have a teacher post to share all the lessons learned and reading strategies.
The Inside Scoop
Heather Robyn has some special details in Dino Deegan and the Unpleasant Class that are fun for a reader to know. I love this kind of thing in books – something to look forward to.
First, the dogs on this page are the cute pets of the author and illustrator! I love this detail because the first time reading this story, I had mentally taken a moment to think, “I never thought about “cave” people/dinosaurs having pets.” So now when I turn to this page, I think about the connection to the author and illustrator.
Notice anything that stands out as odd or makes you wonder in this bedroom picture?
For my son, it was the spilled paint. I do agree with him. We were guessing why there was paint on the floor. 😂 For me, I thought to myself, “I never thought about dinosaurs playing superheroes!”
The cape hanging out of the dresser and the mask had me imagining Deegan dressed up as a superhero!
Little did I know, Heather had a special reason for those being in Dino Deegan’s room. The cape and mask are actually from Heather Robyn’s other book Super Max! So brilliant! A fun way to help your readers connect to one of your other books. 👌🏼 Check out her website to see her other books!
I enjoy reading rhyming books, so Dino Deegan and the Unpleasant Class was fun to read. There is something about the smoothness in a rhyming story. ☺️
I am so glad I bought Dino Deegan and the Unpleasant Class!
Thankfully, my son has not had unpleasant classroom experience so far, but this book is wonderful for my kindergarten library too!
Check out that blog post in case you are a teacher or have a child who may be a little different and having a hard time fitting in. I love sharing how a book can be used to teach anything!
Dino Deegan and the Unpleasant Class can be purchased via Amazon or on the authors website.
This is so great! Zoe is such an amazing illustrator, I chose her to illustrate my book (work in process) too! If you like her style, I strongly recommend following her on FB. She posts fun clips of her drawings that I could watch over and over again! Her FB page is https://www.facebook.com/ZoeMellorsIllustration/