Jane Yolen and Dinosaurs!

When I was in middle school, I was fairly obsessed with the "sci-fi/fantasy" genre. I think I flew through everything Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffrey, and Mercedes Lackey ever wrote (among others). One of my absolute favorite authors during this time, however, was Jane Yolen.

I loved, loved, loved "Sister Light, Sister Dark." It spoke to me in a way that most other fantasy novels did not. I was sad that there were only a few books of these characters. I liked them so much that a few years ago I went in search of these books again (not so easy to find) and re-read them. Still loved them.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago. A received some great books for his first birthday! We are a book loving family after all...and two of them were about dinosaurs - How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Dogs? and How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Birthday? how they treat their dogs and celebrate birthdays. I thought the story has great and A loved them, so overall a win (Thanks Rick and Jo!). They entered the normal rotation.

My mom was visiting a few weeks later and read him a few books - including starting with reading the title and author (what a great idea!). So next time I sat down I did the same. To my utter surprise these dinosaur books were by Jane Yolen! My favorite author from my teenage years. No wonder I liked them so much. I had no idea she also wrote children's books!

There is quite the series of them now...they have great drawings, a fun story and teach kids manners, how to be a good pet owner and to appreciate your parents(!)...all very important lessons. I'd highly recommend them when looking for your next book!