‘Niskopri, nilgħab u nifhem: Id-dinosawri’

How many dinosaur names can you list at the top of your head? If your answer is “Err, um, T-rex… and, um, err” then we know that you are over the age of 30. Ask the same question to a child and he or she will rattle off the scientific names of dozens, if not hundreds, of dinosaurs.

As a near-universal rule, children love dinosaurs. Children can tell you what these creatures ate, what they looked like, and where they lived and what era or period they lived in. Mesozoic era? Cretaceous period? They know it all.

So far Maltese children have not had the possibility of knowing the names of the dinosaurs in Maltese. Merlin Publishers is changing all that with the publication of the new book Id-dinosawri.

Part of a new non-fiction series: Niskopri, nilgħab u nifhem, Id-dinosawri is unique in Maltese children’s literature. Aimed at children aged six to eight, this is the first dinosaur-themed book in Maltese. The book has been adapted to Maltese by Rachel Portelli, co-author of the Tikka Qari series, with the help of language experts who have carried out extensive research on Maltese terminology to coin the dinosaur names in Maltese.

Id-dinosawri is not very texty and the information comes to life with lots of colour visuals. They come in padded hardback cases and quality art paper, which will withstand sticky fingers running over the pages over and over.

Several academic studies conclude that children who develop a persistent interest in a concept topic such as dinosaurs, improve their attention span, make better learners and grow up into smarter kids.

This book could be a starter for your children. And if you join them in reading it, maybe next time round, your list will go further than T-Rex!