Have you ever wanted to see a dinosaur? Not just a skeleton in a museum, but a real live HUGE dinosaur? It would certainly be exciting, but maybe dinosaurs are better left to our imaginations. On a trip to the zoo our narrator imagines how great it would be if there were dinosaurs there. He is all set to petition the zoo when he begins to wonder if the zoo really could contain the dinosaurs and what would happen if they got out. AUTHOR: Amanda Niland grew up in Sydney, where she spent most of her childhood reading. She studied music at university, and then decided to be an early childhood teacher, so that she could share her two favourite things ? books and music ? with young children. Inspired by children's enthusiasm, she began to write her own stories and songs. I Wish There Were Dinosaurs is Amanda's first picture book. She lives in Sydney. ILLUSTRATOR: Christina Booth is an award winning children's illustrator who works from her bush studio in Tasmania. Christina's book Kip won honour book in the CBCA Book of the Year award, Younger Readers 2010. Her most recent picture book is Carrum Sailing Club, which was written by Claire Saxby. Christina created the illustrations for this book on brown pastel paper using pencil and acrylic ink. SELLING POINTS ? Perfect for dinosaur-loving children ? Great read aloud ? Lends itself well to classroom art and drama activities
