*Author's note: This book was inspired by and is lovingly dedicated to my nephew Braxton! Braxton Eric this one is for you!
Braxton picked his toys up and put them all away. He yawned as he put his pjs on. He had had a busy day.
"Braxton Eric have you brushed your teeth?"
"Yes mommy! I brushed them all! They're super, squeaky clean!"
"Alright, then choose a book to read because it's almost time for bed." Braxton hopped over and chose one from his shelf. He climbed up in between his parents and showed them he could read it all by himself.
His parents then tucked Braxton in, kissed him and said goodnight. His daddy smiled back at him as he turned on his special dinosaur nightlight. His mommy whispered, "We love you. I hope you have sweet dreams." Braxton snuggled his fluffy dinosaur, rubbed his eyes and fell asleep without a peep.
From the moment he closed his eyes Braxton drifted off to sleep. He dreamed he was on a dinosaur adventure just like in the book he always chose to read.
"Well hello there Mr. Braxton! I'm Billy the Brontosaurus. When I'm hungry I eat leaves that are high up in the trees but with my long neck it's quite easy. You could say for me it's a breeze!"
"Well, hello there Braxton. My name is Teddy the T-Rex. They call me the king around here because I'm strong and I'm fast. If you ever need help with anything all you have to do is ask."
Billy the Brontosaurus cleared his throat and chimed back in again, "Like I was saying, I have a long neck and for me, eating is a breeze. If you get hungry just roar of course if you want to munch on some leaves with me."
Braxton stood in the dinosaur forest with his new friends T-rex and Brontosaurus. They towered above him but Braxton didn't seem to notice that they were simply enormous.
"What do you want to do first?" His friend T- Rex asked him with a grin.
"Well, I don't know how to roar." Braxton sighed and flashed a smile up at his new friends.
"Do you think you could teach me how to roar? I know how to yell real loud but I can't roar like a dinosaur."
"Of course I can teach you, but first, we must prepare. It's not easy you know. You have to keep trying until your roar dances through the air."
"Can you teach me to roar just like you do? I want to pretend I'm a Tyrannosaurus!"
"With some practice, yes, of course. Now tilt your head back and let out your biggest growl. If you do it just right, your roar will echo right up to the clouds."
So Braxton tilted his head back and he let out his biggest growl. But I'm afraid his growl sounded more like a squeak and his smile quickly turned into a frown.
T-Rex clapped his hands and said, "Braxton that was amazing! You're doing great, but this time growl much louder. Keep practicing. Don't be afraid!"
So Braxton tilted his head back and he let out his biggest growl. Teddy and Billy clapped and clapped. Braxton made them both so proud.
"I did it! I did it! Braxton jumped up and down. "I roared just like a dinosaur. My roar, it did. It echoed right up to the clouds!"
"You sure did!" They both said as they patted him gently on his head. "Now follow us and we'll show you the way, back to your own bed."
Braxton was suddenly sad. "My bed? But I'm not ready to go back yet. I'm having so much fun and want to stay right here and be a dinosaur instead."
"Alright, you can stay a bit longer, but then it's back to your bed," they said. "Next we'll take you to meet our friends in the forest. Stay close and don't wander off. It will be dark as we explore it."
"Who's there?" Braxton called out as they heard something rustling in the bushes up ahead.
"Shh, stay behind us. Just in case." Braxton's friends both said.
"It's me!" Called out the friendly dinosaur as he popped out from behind a purple tree. "They call me Tony the Triceratops. I'll bet you're glad to see it's only me!"
Braxton quickly hid behind his friends Brontosaurus and T-Rex. Even though this dinosaur seemed friendly he wasn't going to take a chance.
"It's ok." His friends assured him as they stepped closer to shake the triceratop's hand. "Don't worry Braxton. Tony is like a teddy bear. Even though he has horns and spiky armor poking out from around his head."
"I'm pleased to meet you, Tony!" Braxton proudly said as he shook his new friend's hand. "I was a little scared at first but now I see you're a nice dinosaur instead."
All of a sudden they heard a noise high above them in the trees. The trees shook really hard around them and covered them in leaves. His wings were fast as they flapped. His dinosaur roar was loud. This giant pterodactyl made lots of noise as he came swooping down.
"Well, who is this?" The dinosaur bird called out as he slowly lowered his wings.
"This is our new friend, Braxton. He's a human boy. He came to play with us from his dream."
"A human boy? Does he bite? Should I be afraid and fly away?"
Braxton and his friends all laughed, "of course not! He doesn't bite. He's nice. Like we said, he just came to play!"
"Well, I heard a roar floating through the clouds and I quickly turned around. It sounded like a new dinosaur. I just had to check it out."
"It was our friend Braxton, as you can see. He came here from his dream. We were just teaching him how to roar and it indeed sounded like a dinosaur!"
"Good job Braxton!" The pterodactyl praised him as he slowly walked up and smiled. "Mind if I join in then? I could teach him a few tricks of mine like how to build a nest so high and fly the fastest through the sky!"
"Of course!" said the dinosaurs. "Of course!" agreed Braxton. "The more the merrier. We were just going to teach Braxton how to roar some more and take him exploring through the forest."
Braxton happily followed his friends along the path through the dinosaur forest. They stomped their feet. They made up silly songs and giggled through the chorus.
Oh, dinosaurs are big and small. Some are short and some are tall. Some eat leaves and some eat meat but they all sound the same when they stomp their feet! You can roar like a dinosaur. Just tilt your head and growl real loud! GRRRRRR!
"Braxton! Braxton Eric! Wake up little guy! It's almost breakfast time."
"Oh mommy! Oh daddy! I had the best time of my life last night! I went to Dinosaur land and I met some dinosaurs and they taught me how to roar!"
"You did? Well, that's amazing!" His daddy said as he swooped him up from his bed and softly patted Braxton on his head.
"What were their names?" His mommy asked to see if he could remember them as they helped him to get dressed.
"Well, there was Billy the Brontosaurus and Teddy the T-Rex, Tony the Triceratops and umm, I can't remember the pterodactyl's name but he was a huge bird that flew high in the clouds and when he heard me roaring he flew down to check it out. Oh, and we sang a silly dinosaur song too! Sing along with me mommy and daddy, won't you?"
Oh, dinosaurs are big and small. Some are short and some are tall. Some eat leaves and some eat meat but they all sound the same when they stomp their feet! You can roar like a dinosaur. Just tilt your head and growl real loud! GRRRRRR!
"You did it mommy and daddy! I taught you to roar just like a dinosaur! GRRRRRR!"
As soon as Braxton's mommy and daddy left the room he proudly looked around at all his toy dinosaurs and his dinosaur costume. He was surprised when he heard a tiny voice coming from his toy bin. He ran over and was overjoyed to find a toy dinosaur looking up at him with a great big grin.
"You can come back tonight, Braxton, when you fall fast sleep. We'll be right here waiting for you. All you have to do is close your eyes and dream!"
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©️ Bobbie J Lowrey 2023