D – Dinosaur Train

This is a cartoon show which my son has started watching recently and he totally loves it. Comes on the ZQ channel here. It’s about a family of dinosaurs - the Pteranodons (I had to google to get it right.. ;-D ) where the mother dinosaur, Mrs Pteranodon finds a different dinosaur species egg in her nest where 3 of her own eggs are also there. All 4 hatch at the same time. There are 3 Pteranodon kids – Don, Shiny and Tiny and of course the 4^th one who is a T-Rex, Buddy. Mrs P raises buddy as her kid. All 6 of them (including Mr P :-) ) are a family who travel the world (the prehistoric Jurassic and other time period) in the dinosaur train and learn about different species of dinosaurs.

All of us (including M) love the show. I especially like the opening theme song which tells us about the show (all that I have written above) in a really nice way. Shaurya loves this song and sings it a lot.. he can’t really pronounce everything though he tries hard but he does shout with the chorus of Dinosaur Train towards the end.  Here's the Lyrics:

NARRATOR: Once upon a time, there was a mom

Her name was Mrs. Pteranodon

Sitting on her nest, she heard a scratching and said

 MRS. P: Oh, boy, my eggs are hatching!

 NARRATOR: One by one, the kids popped free

Baby pteranodons, one, two, three

MRS. P: I'll name you Tiny, Shiny and Don.

NARRATOR: But Tiny said

TINY: Wait! There's one more, mom!

NARRATOR: The last little baby had a different size

With teeth and a tail and big green eyes

He didn't look anything like the rest

BUDDY: What am I doing in a pteranodon nest?

NARRATOR: But dear old Mrs. Pteranodon said

MRS. P: Oh, this is your family and I'm your mom.

You may be different, but we're all creatures.

All dinosaurs have different features.

Come on, Buddy, we'll take a vacation.

I'll get us a ticket in Pteranodon Station.

We'll travel the world in sunshine and rain

And meet all different species on the... Dinosaur Train

The show is really interesting. When we initially started watching it, we thought maybe all the different species that they show is imaginary but we were surprised to learn that it wasn't so. A paleontologist, Dr. Scott D. Sampson, is associated with the show and provides information on the different Dinosaurs. Along with helping you know about all the different kind of dinosaurs and time periods, it gives positive messages to the kids in real good way. The 4 dinosaur siblings – Don, Tiny, Shiny and Buddy have a lot of fun together, they are eager to explore new places and meet other dinosaurs. They enjoy making new friends. The show also emphasizes on how they (we) may be from different species (religion, culture, physical appearance or lifestyle) but each of them (us) have unique skills that makes them (us) special. So in a way, it teaches kids how being different is fine and you can still be friends and respect & learn from each other. I also like the way Mr & Mrs P support their kids and encourage them to try on new things and help them learn. They always have the ‘you-can-do-it’ attitude for everyone, egging them to try hard and supporting them if they can’t. I think Journeys are one of the best ways that help you expand your horizon. Among other things, you learn to mingle with strangers, discover new places, adjust to new food and culture. Hence it makes sense that all this is done while they are on a fun journey on the Dinosaur Train.

Shaurya likes it so much, he has given us new names as well. He is Shiny (he doesn’t understand gender differences yet :D), M is Don and I am Buddy. (But then maybe he knows we are different gender coz he and his dad are of one species and I am from a different one :D)