Dinosaur Books for Kids and a Story Starring Your Child
Make a story like this with your child as the hero
Some children learn to say “stegosaurus” before they can say their own address. If yours is one of them, you already know the requests: the same dinosaur book every night, a roar at every page, and questions about which one was the biggest. This guide is for those children and the grown-ups who read to them.
It has four parts. First, dinosaur books for kids that families read again and again, from toddlers up. Then a short dinosaur bedtime story you can tell tonight. Then a six-line recipe for making up your own dinosaur story with your child as the hero. And last, how to turn it into a printed picture book: a dinosaur story starring your child, with their name on the cover.
Dinosaur Books for Toddlers and Young Children
Dinosaurs are big, loud and safely gone, which makes them just the right amount of exciting. These picture books have been favourites for years, and each one does something a little different.
Dinosaur Roar! by Paul and Henrietta Stickland: big and small, fierce and meek, with lots of roaring. Short, bold and good for toddlers.
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague: huge dinosaurs who stall at bedtime the way children do, and then go to sleep nicely. Made for the last book of the night.
Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs by Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds: a boy who takes his toy dinosaurs everywhere, and what happens when he loses them. Published in the US as Sammy and the Dinosaurs.
Dinosaurumpus! by Tony Mitton and Guy Parker-Rees: a rhyming dinosaur dance, best read out loud with plenty of stamping.
Tyrannosaurus Drip by Julia Donaldson and David Roberts: a gentle duck-billed dinosaur hatched among grumpy tyrannosaurs, for children who like a story with a twist.
The Girl and the Dinosaur by Hollie Hughes and Sarah Massini: a girl who wishes on a dinosaur skeleton on the beach, and the friend who comes out at night.
Look at what most of them share: a dinosaur who is big but kind, a small problem, and a child who is braver or cleverer than anyone expected. That shape works just as well for a story about your own child.
A Five-Minute Dinosaur Bedtime Story
Here is a short story to tell with the lights low. Put your child’s name where it says Sam, and slow down towards the end.
One evening, Sam heard a tiny tap at the bedroom window. Tap, tap, tap. Outside, standing in the garden, was a dinosaur no bigger than the dog, green with yellow spots.
“I can’t sleep,” said the little dinosaur. “It’s too dark in the forest, and my nest is too far away.”
So Sam opened the window and helped it climb in. Sam showed it the night light, round and warm like the moon. Sam lent it the softest blanket. Sam even sang it the bedtime song, the one with the stars in it.
The little dinosaur yawned a very big yawn for such a small dinosaur. “Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?” it asked.
“I will,” said Sam. And Sam did.
In the morning, the window was open a crack, the blanket was folded, and on the windowsill lay one smooth green stone, just the colour of a little dinosaur. Sam kept it under the pillow, in case it came back to say goodnight again.
Most children will want to change something on the second night: the dinosaur’s colour, its name, what it was afraid of. Let them. That is the start of their own story.
Make It Their Own: A Dinosaur Story Recipe
Fill in these six lines and you have a story. Say them out loud with a little detail in each, and it lasts about five minutes.
The hero: your child’s name and age, and their favourite dinosaur. A triceratops, the one on their pyjamas, the plastic one that goes everywhere.
The place: somewhere they know, with a door into somewhere they don’t. The back garden gate, the park, the museum after closing time.
The dinosaur friend: a name, a size and one funny habit. A little round dinosaur called Dottie who hops when she is happy.
The small problem: something a child can help with. The dinosaur can’t cross a stream, has lost its egg, or is scared of the thunder.
The kind or clever step: what your child does about it. They build a bridge, they share a toy, they find the way.
The ending: home again, the way your evenings end. Bath, dinosaur pyjamas, one more roar before the light goes out.
A Worked Example: Mia and the Dinosaur Valley
Here are the six lines filled in for a girl called Mia, who loves dinosaurs and carries a little wooden one everywhere.
The hero: Mia, and her little yellow wooden dinosaur with blue spots.
The place: through the blue gate at the end of her garden, a valley of tall ferns and a shallow creek.
The dinosaur friend: Dottie, small and round and mint green, with a red neckerchief.
The small problem: Dottie can’t cross the creek.
The clever step: “One stone. Two stones. Three stones. A path for Dottie!” Then Mia shares her wooden dinosaur.
The ending: when the sky turns peach, Dottie knows the way back to the gate. “Home again, Mia. What a dino day!”
This is a real example from Photo9’s story writer. We gave it only Mia’s name, her age, that she loves dinosaurs, and that we wanted an adventure. It wrote the fourteen pages and drew every picture. Mia isn’t a real child: we drew her as a sample.
From Story to Book: a Personalised Dinosaur Book
A story told at bedtime is lovely. A book is something they can carry around, look at alone and keep. With Photo9 you can turn your story into a personalised dinosaur book in which your child is drawn as the hero from one photo.
Add one clear photo of your child. We draw them as a storybook character, for free, before you decide anything. The photo is used only to draw your book, deleted as soon as the book is drawn, and never used to train AI or shared.
Pick a dinosaur story, or write your own. Use one of the ready stories below, or type your six lines in your own words.
Tell us their favourite dinosaur and who will read it. The words are written for the reader’s age, from toddlers to confident readers.
Choose a look and a layout. 3D animation, watercolour or classic storybook; words on a page of their own, or one big picture across both pages.
Read it, change anything, then order. Every word can be edited before printing, and you can add your own dedication on the first page.
The finished book is a square hardcover of 30 pages with 14 full-page illustrations, printed in your region. Up to three companions can join the adventure, like a big brother, Grandma or the family dog, each drawn from their own photo.
Ready Dinosaur Stories to Start From
If you would rather not write anything, start from one of these. Each one is written around your child: their name, their age and what they love.
The dinosaur egg: a big speckled egg in the garden, and a baby dinosaur looking for its family.
Goodnight, little dinosaur: a small dinosaur who can’t fall asleep, and the hero who knows just what to do.
A night at the dinosaur museum: when the museum closes, the friendly dinosaurs wake up to play.
A dinosaur Christmas: a little dinosaur’s very first Christmas, with snow, lights and presents.
A big dinosaur adventure: leave it to us, with a trip to the land of the dinosaurs and home again.
Each link opens the book maker with that story already chosen. Nothing is printed until you order.
Gifts for Dinosaur Lovers
For a birthday, for Christmas or just because, a book where they are the one who meets the dinosaur is a present a dinosaur lover doesn’t already have. Of all the gifts for dinosaur lovers, it is the one with them in it. A few things make it work even better:
Ask for one photo. A clear, front-facing photo in daylight gives the best drawing.
Bring the family along. A brother or sister can share the adventure in the same book, and so can the dog.
Write the dedication. A few lines in your own words on the first page, from parents, grandparents or a godparent.
Send it straight to them. Use their address at checkout, so the book arrives at their home.
Looking for more birthday ideas? These personal photo book birthday gifts work for every age. And if your child draws dinosaurs as often as they read about them, you can also make a photo book of your child’s own drawings.
Reading It Together
A story where they are the hero tends to be read slowly. Let them point at themselves on every page, look for the dinosaur tracks, and say the last line of each page with you once they know it. Most children soon “read” it alone from the pictures.
Christmas is coming too: a dinosaur story makes a good present for the season, and our guide to a Christmas story starring your child has more ideas for December. All our personalised children's books work the same way, for bedtime, birthdays, a new baby and a first day at school too.
Questions Parents Ask
Can I choose the dinosaur?
Yes. Tell us their favourite, like “a triceratops called Bob” or “the green one from their pyjamas”, and the story is written around it. You can change every word before it is printed.
Do I need more than one photo?
No. One clear photo is all it takes: we draw your child as the hero from it, and every page is painted from that drawing, so they look the same throughout the book.
Can brothers, sisters or the dog be in the same book?
Yes. Add up to three companions, each from their own photo, and they join the dinosaur adventure.
What age is it for?
Any age. You choose who will read it, from toddlers to older children and even grown-ups, and the words are written for them.
How long does it take to arrive?
Most orders arrive within a week, and the delivery date is shown at checkout before you pay. Drawing the hero and writing the story take a few minutes.
