In regard to my Dino Manger, I was recently asked, “What do dinosaurs have to do with Christmas?” My response was to ask what an animate snowman, red-nosed reindeer, and other such trappings have to do with Christmas. It’s a bit of whimsy. I was really aiming for a “Three Wise Dinos” motif, but I’m short one dinosaur.
I got to wondering if others were doing mash-ups of dinosaurs and Christmas. Surely, if there is a market for tinsel dinosaurs from Home Depot (although our house is the only one I’ve seen with two of them), then others have got to be including dinosaurs as part of their Christmas. As it turns out, there are several. A quick search of Amazon produced the following collection of books.
Dinosaur Christmas, by Jerry Pallotta asks the question “What did Santa use to pull his sleigh before he had reindeer?” Dinosaurs!
Jane Yolen and Mark Teague explore how dinosaurs might celebrate Christmas in “How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas?”
Janet Lawler’s “Tyrannoclaus” is a retelling of “The Night Before Christmas”, but with dinosaurs.
Along the same lines, “The Dinosaurs’ Night Before Christmas” but Anne Mueke not only retells the James Clement Moore story, but also rewrites several Christmas Carols, as well. The book includes a CD with recordings by famous artists. My favorite goes like this…
Hark! The Pterodactyls sing
Flying High on reptile wing.
Down below them in a nest
Raptor chicks await breakfast.
Rays of sunshine coax rebirth
From the Mesozoic Earth.
Tiny bug and giant beast
Wake to hunt a new morn’s feast.
Hark! The Pterodactyls sing –
Wondering what the day will bring.
However, my favorite discovery so far has been Australian musician Bob Brown’s song, “Santa Bring Me a Dinosaur.” I’ll end with this lovely jewel: