North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts author and kindergartener, Christopher Isaiah Penn Smith

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts author and kindergartener, Christopher Isaiah Penn Smith

     RALEIGH, NC — Most five-years-olds (or adults for that matter) can barely read Spinosaurus, Dromaeosaurus, or Tyrannosaurus rex, let alone write a whole book about dinosaurs, but five-year-old South Florida native, Christopher Isaiah Penn Smith, can and did!

In fact, the vibrant, energetic kindergartener wrote and published Guess Who, Mr. Dinosaur? when he was four- years-old and in preschool! While most children are content with learning the sounds that animals make, Christopher took things a step further – or, rather, took things all the way back to prehistoric times.  Guess Who, Mr. Dinosaur? is a children’s book and teaching tool about the shared features between ancient dinosaurs and modern day animals.

While visiting his family in North Carolina for the Thanksgiving holiday, Christopher managed to swing by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences for a book signing.

On Dec. 2, 2014 Christopher was the museum’s special guest during storytime, where he read and sold the book he authored.

Christopher’s cousin and national recording artist Yolanda Rabun and guitarist Emily Musolino accompanied him in two storytime sessions with the song, “Guess Who, Mr. Dinosaur?”, that was written for the book.   It was a sing-a-long hit, especially with his younger brother! Museum Early Childhood Educator Beth Cranford had live animals for the kids to learn about and touch. During his visit to the museum, Mr. Smith met and Dr. Lindsay Zanno, Director of the Paleontology and Geology Research Lab and Museum Director Emlyn Koster. He was also given a special tour of the museum’s fossil collection, where he was able to participate in preparing 70 million year old specimens for research. He of course visited the Museum’s newest traveling exhibit, The World’s Largest Dinosaurs, which explores the biology of a group of uniquely super-sized dinosaurs—the long necked and long-tailed sauropods—running now through April 12, 2015.

Christopher’s favorite subject is dinosaurs, which led him to begin drawing similarities between the features of dinosaurs and those of modern-day animals. His parents, Christopher Sr. and Kymberlee, jotted down his comparisons, and were so excited about his ideas that they had them copyrighted and illustrated. A few months later, little Christopher’s musings were captured in Guess Who, Mr. Dinosaur? The book targets preschool and elementary readers, ages three to six. The book also provides the pronunciations of featured dinosaurs and two fun learning activities—the “Dino Match-Up” game and a coloring page. Each activity encourages creative thought, dinosaur and animal recognition and fine motor development. For more information about the book visit, http://guesswhodinosaur.com.  The book can be purchased for $9.99.

Christopher’s cousin and national recording artist Yolanda Rabun and guitarist Emily Mu-solino accompanied him in two storytime sessions with the song, Guess Who, Mr. Dinosaur? that was written for the book. It was a sing-a-long hit, especially with his younger brother! Museum Early Childhood Educator Beth Cranford had live animals for the kids to learn about and touch. During his visit to the museum, Mr. Smith met and Dr. Lindsay Zanno, Director of the Paleontology and Geology Research Lab and Museum Director Emlyn Koster. He was also given a special tour of the museum’s fossil collection, where he was able to participate in preparing 70 million year old specimens for research. He of course visited the Museum’s newest traveling exhibit, The World’s Largest Dinosaurs, which explores the biology of a group of uniquely super-sized dinosaurs—the long necked and long-tailed sauropods—running now through April 12, 2015.

Christopher’s favorite subject is dinosaurs, which led him to begin drawing similarities between the features of dinosaurs and those of modern-day animals. His parents, Christopher Sr. and Kymberlee, jotted down his comparisons, and were so excited about his ideas that they had them copyrighted and illustrated. A few months later, little Christopher’s musings were captured in Guess Who, Mr. Dinosaur? The book targets preschool and elementary readers, ages three to six. The book also provides the pronunciations of featured dinosaurs and two fun learning activities—the “Dino Match-Up” game and a coloring page. Each activity encourages creative thought, dinosaur and animal recognition and fine motor development. For more information about the book visit, http://guesswhodinosaur.com.  The book can be purchased for $9.99.