I thought this book would be an introduction to picture day at school for youngsters. It was a little of that but so much more. It teaches teamwork and helpfulness when her classmates all rally to help the MC find her missing favorite hat. It teaches selflessness through the MC character giving up her prized possession to another who needed it more. These are important and relatable lessons for the target audience.

I just loved the whimsical and colorful dinosaur illustrations and their humanized personalities and activities. It reminded me a little bit of the 1980s classic kid's film The Land Before Time. Introducing dinosaurs to very young children in this manner is a good way to get them interested before they learn how vicious and scary many of them really were.

Thank you to NetGalley and NorthSouth Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

A cute book about picture day at a school with dinosaurs! One of them is really excited about her hat, but when she loses it is upset. When they find it finally, it’s being used by a bird as a nest.

The story was cute and the illustrations were also great!

“Sean Julian's adorable dinosaurs are back in Picture Day at Dino Play, the second adventure after Norman's First Day at Dino Day Care. This lively story shows how generosity can make people happy, and there is always a creative solution when things don’t go as planned.”

I think the story itself is delightful. Freda loses her favorite hat while playing with her friends once day. Her beautiful friends try to help her find it, but they realize that a birdy has acquired the hat for herself and has laid eggs in it. Even though it was her favorite hat that her grandma used to have, Freda is comfortable leaving the hat with the birdy. In the end, the teacher leads everyone in making their own creative hats.

However.

I am not sure if this book is for me. I really enjoyed the artwork, and the sweet little story; however, what I didn’t enjoy was the message. It reminded me of RAINBOW FISH, the story of one fish who had something that made him special, but since everyone else didn’t have that thing, they demanded that he make them feel special by giving a part of him away to placate them. In this case, Freda loses her favorite hat that her grandmother gave her in order to give the birdy a home. Freda gets to make her own hat in the end, but an arts and crafts hat would not have the same sentimental value as your grandmother’s hat.

Yes, generosity can be nice, but where is the line? Is it necessary to sacrifice the things you treasure dearly to satisfy someone else? Do your own needs just not matter in comparison to someone else’s needs?

I’m just not a fan of books that deliver this type of message. It supports people pleasing, to a degree.

What a cute story about friendship and inclusion.
Frieda looses her beloved had right before pictures and when it’s found, it is needed more by someone else. She doesn’t get upset but her classmates go out of their way to make her feel included.

Gorgeous illustrations as well!!

Thank you to Netgalley and NorthSouth Books for an E-ARC in exchange for my, and my son's, honest review.

A sweet story about Freda, the Triceratops that lost her favorite hat on picture day at their school (the name of the school is Dino Play, hence the title). Luckily she has good friends and teachers who are there for her. The illustrations are beautiful! My 4 year-old was captivated during the story and asked a lot of questions about the pictures. Overall the story flows nicely, but the text is very small on the digital version, I had to zoom in to read and then zoom back out to look at the full picture.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A cute story for toddlers and preschool kids about sharing. The illustrations are a lot of fun to look at as well.

Terrific little children’s story, filled with a bunch of kindness lessons. We loved it. Added bonus that it was a dinosaur book.

I found it very hard to rate children's books so everything is a 5 star read for me!!
I really loved this book, the illustrations are so beautiful and captivating that I found myself smiling through every page I read.
The story itself is very beautiful and inspiring <3

Every child has felt left out at some point in their life. Dinosaurs at school have the same problems. This cleverly illustrated picture book explores a dino child who wants to fit in while also being fondly attached to a prize possession that has great meaning, but isn't so fashionable. Our dino friends, with the help of the teacher, explore themes of friendship and belonging and what it means to be different and embrace those differences. Children and parents will gravitate toward this cute story with lots of brightly illustrated pages.

This children's book contains lovely illustrations, very colourful and bursting with energy. The cast of characters is rich and endearing and the story engaging. Overall, a fun little piece!

Rich dialogue that captures the heart of youth. Nostalgic and amicable illustrations. Hints of foreshadowing that are hidden within the drawings. Choice of words have meaning and are placed with purpose. Engaging typography. Unpredictable plot. Heartwarming message. Overall, an amazing read.

It is picture day at the little dino daycare, and a young triceratops named Freda is wearing her favorite hat. Not wanting anything happening to it, she restrains herself from playing with her friends, but is ultimately unable to resist joining in the fun. Unfortunately, at lunchtime one of Freda’s classmates notices that the hat is missing! Alarmed, Freda looks for it everywhere without success. Although she is upset and unsure if she will ever find the hat, her teacher and friends comfort her and offer their help. Retracing their steps, the little dinos work together and look everywhere, finally finding it in a very unexpected place. In the end, picture day turns out to be a fun and unique experience, with this day’s picture becoming Freda’s favorite of all. In this beautifully illustrated and colorful rendering of childhood, the common tragedy of losing a personal treasure comes to light. Yet, in Freda’s uncertainty the author showcases the enthusiasm, kindness and hope that the childhood spirit holds. With warm-tone illustrations of childlike dinos accompanied by easy-to-read text, and a relatable plot, readers of all ages will connect to the story with ease. This is certainly a book that should be included in young readers’ libraries.

Most kids love dinosaur books. This one focuses on Freda who brings her favorite hat to school for picture day. When the hat goes missing her friends pitch in to help her find it. I love that her friends are caring, helpful and creative. It has the right amount of dialogue on the page for younger readers to enjoy. Thank you to NorthSouth Books for the temporary ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving a voluntary review.

Cute story, but the artwork is my favorite part of this book. The dinosaurs are absolutely adorable. I think my kids would have loved this story when they were little.

4 stars

A colourful dino journey as Freda learns some important lessons whilst looking for her hat. It highlights the importance of team work and also introduces your child to the idea of selflessness..

This is an adorable story which your child could read independently or with their caregiver.

Thank you so much to NorthSouth Books and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

It’s picture day at the dinos play school, Freda wears her favourite hat to school, but as she plays she loses it, when she finds it again she knows she can’t take it back, but her teacher has an even better idea, that Includes all her students.

What an adorable book, the dinos were all super precious and all wanted to play with Freda and also help her search for her missing hat. It’s so sweet and I really enjoyed reading it.

The illustrations were all really lovely and I liked seeing all the different types of dinosaurs that were used, all so unique size wise, design wise, so cute to see them all. I liked the sweet friendship and kindess message that was included within the story, it was a nice little addition to it.

This is a book that I know children will really enjoy, it’s got dinosaurs and a lot of children go through a dinosaur phase, it’s very bright and colourful, it’s really adorable, shows dinosaurs at school with a nice teacher and has lots of friendship between very different dinos. A really lovely and fun read.

These illustrations were very cute, and the shift in our hero's perspective on her missing hat was really great for children to think about objects as different then memories. Quite adorable!

A fun and adorable story about how sometimes something that is very special to you can be even more special and significant to another.

This was such an adorable story! Between the heartwarming theme of teamwork and the colorful illustrations, this book is definitely worth reading.

I received an ARC from NorthSouth Books Inc. | NorthSouth Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet story about friendship and sharing. The illustrations are colorful and help to draw the reader in. This makes for the perfect read aloud and young reader book. Thank you, NetGalley and Northsouth Books, for the arc and opportunity to provide an honest review.