I’ve mentioned before that my public library puts stickers on some picture books to guide parents and readers. Some are standard, like labeling picture books that are better for older readers. Some are less standard, like this one that has a “dinosaurs” sticker on it.
So yes, spoiler alert: Linda Bailey’s 2025 picture book The Great Dinosaur Sleepover has dinosaurs in it.
The story has a good and fairly simple premise: Jake, who loves dinosaurs, invites friends over for a “dinosaur sleepover” to celebrate his birthday. However, they all get sick, and Jake goes to bed sad as a result.
That night, dinosaurs show up instead of his friends. Jake first sees them in the living room, watching movies and snacking. Jake then has a party with the dinosaurs, one where they adapt familiar games for a dinosaur crowd. (Musical chairs becomes musical dinosaurs, for example.) This gives illustrator Joe Bluhm lots of opportunity for fun dino images.
The party spills out of Jake’s house into the night, and the street, and Jake rides an apatorasaurus (for older readers, think a relative of/variation on brontosaurus) over to visit his friend Harry, who is properly amazed when he leans out the window to better see Jake on a dinosaur.
There’s a twist along the way: the dinosaurs didn’t tell the T Rex because, well, it is a T Rex…but the terrifying dino first shadows the party, following along out of sight, then joins when they are playing soccer, and turns out to be friendly.
The next morning, the dinosaurs are gone, and they’ve left no trace, not even footprints. Jake’s mom is sure it was a dream, until Jake’s friend Ellie shows up with a picture of the event (with Jake on a dinosaur) a few days later.
Good light fun, but some elements of the book work out too easily. I was suspicious when all the kids got sick at once, but I really rolled my eyes when the T Rex was harmless. Sure, a dinosaur lover has to have the classic tyrant lizard there, but a killer carnivore just wants to play? Expect some push back from dino-crazy kids.
