Mindy and Mo’s Dino Duo

Mindy and Mo love to play in a wood not far away. Join these two fun-loving adventurers as they whizz past dinosaur herds on the back of Dippy the diplodocus. They spot a traveller whose time machine is stuck in the mud. Can Mindy, Mo and Dippy help him free the time machine’s wheels before it’s time to leave? What will the fallen tree be the next time they visit? And what will they see?

This Mindy and Mo story has been written to support children who are working on the ’d’ sound. Support your child’s practice of their target sound by sharing Mindy and Mo’s adventure in the land of the dinosaurs and encouraging them to join in with the traveller’s ’dumble and dimble’. Engaging characters and plot, supported by a rhythmic and rhyming structure, ensure this book not only supports speech development, but also entertains and inspires. Creatively and descriptively told, this story introduces new words and provides opportunities for developing literacy skills. Through positive characterisation, it also explores the themes of growth mindset, empathy, kindness and resilience, allowing children to make connections to their own lives and experiences.

A helpful section of suggested activities at the back of the book can be used to support further practice of the target speech sound. It also includes ideas for how this story can be used to help children to connect to nature through imagination. This humorous and triumphant story has been designed to support the individual child but is one which every child can enjoy!

Rebecca Skinner is Head of Speech and Language Therapy and author at Thriving Language Community Interest Company. Co-founded by Rebecca and Becky Poulter Jewson, Thriving Language specialises in early years consultancy, offering training to early years settings and guest lecturing at universities on their undergraduate courses in Early Childhood Studies. Rebecca also works for the Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust as a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, specialising in early years and cleft palate.

Emily Kempster is an English teacher with 20 years’ experience working in Gloucestershire secondary schools. Her passion for books inspired her to write from a young age, anything from short plays to ghost stories. More recently, in an attempt to entertain her young family and support her youngest daughter’s difficulties with some speech sounds, she has focused on writing narrative poems. She hopes that the Mindy and Mo adventures will capture the imagination of young readers as well as support their speech sound development.

Lucy Cannon is a painter, illustrator and designer. Interested in all things creative from an early age, she studied Art and Graphic Design at college before heading into a successful management career in the voluntary sector. To follow her passion for art she set up Imagination by Lucy which offers mural painting, illustration and creating custom home furnishings and apparel. Lucy is also involved in charity work, helping families who have children with heart conditions, but her most rewarding role to date is that of mum to two young children, one of whom had significant speech difficulties up to the age of 5. She now juggles time between bringing up her family, running her business, helping others and eating too much chocolate.