Mrs. Toggle and the Dinosaur by Robin Pulver

"Mrs. Toggle and the Dinosaur" is a wonderful picture book that includes a typical sweet teacher by the name of Mrs. Toggle. In the beginning of the book, Mrs. Toggle is off to a new school year with a new group of students. During the beginning of class one day, Mrs. Toggle receives a phone call informing her that she is having a new student join her class, a dinosaur! All of a sudden she panics because she knows teaching a dinosaur will be a hard task to accomplish. That same day, the whole class spends time preparing for the new student by having a larger desk built specifically for the dinosaur, going to library to learn more about dinosaurs in general, telling the cook in the cafeteria that the dinosaur will need more food than normal, etc. After a long day of preparing for the new student, Mrs. Toggle's class returns to their classroom discovering that they were not receiving a dinosaur for the new student after all, but somebody else instead! This story can be used to read to younger students towards the beginning of the school year to open their minds to being around all new students. Of course you would remind them that a dinosaur would never come to their own classroom. Also, this book has a few fun facts about dinosaurs such as they like to live in groups with other dinosaurs and are reptiles. This book also helps students brainstorm about the many different tasks that need to take place to get a classroom ready for school. It is a very silly and imaginative story that will make children smile.