- Picture Books
- Ages 3–6
- Animals
Dino Feelings: The Hideysaurus
Book 6 of 7 in Dino FeelingsView the full series
Hideysaurus has been invited to a party, which sounds wonderful until she remembers that parties have people, and people can be very much too much. The best book in the series for shy and socially anxious children.
- Best for3–6
- FormatPicture
- Length32 pp
- Read aloud~6 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Rhyming
- Repetitive
- Lyrical
- Conversational
Tone
- Warm
- Gentle
- Heartwarming
- Cosy
- Inspirational
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
There's a party, and everyone is going, and Hideysaurus has been invited too. But as the day approaches, Hideysaurus begins to hide: behind the sofa, behind the curtain, behind anything she can find. Parties, she knows, are loud and crowded and full of people who will all be looking at her. Rachel Bright handles the anxiety with real gentleness, there is no moment where Hideysaurus is simply told to be braver, or where the party turns out to be fine after all in an unrealistically easy way. The resolution is quieter and more honest than that. Chris Chatterton's illustrations capture the feeling of overwhelm beautifully, the difference between how the party looks to everyone else and how it looks to Hideysaurus is drawn with care. The best book in the series for introverted children or those with social anxiety; very useful at transitions like starting school or nursery.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 3–6
- Read aloud · 2–6
- Independent · 5–6
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Bedtime
- Reading together
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
4 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly
Sensitive-child
5 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Anxiety management
- Shyness
- Social anxiety
- Gift book
- Discussion starter
Avoid if
No common reasons to avoid this one — a rare clean sweep on the sensitivity flags.
Particularly good for children who are…
- Anxiety and worry
- Making friends
- Low self esteem
- Starting school
- Starting nursery or preschool
- Separation anxiety
In the classroom
How it works in school.
Rachel Bright's warm, rhyming picture books about feelings and resilience — lovely read-alouds for performing and for talking about big emotions.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific weight is the party invitation — Hideysaurus invited somewhere wonderful, then remembering parties have people and noise and being looked at, then hiding behind the sofa and the curtains and anything she can find. The Dino Feelings for the introvert child the others don't quite cover.
- Being understood finally
- Family belonging
- Friendship and belonging
Why parents love it
The Dino Feelings on social anxiety — Bright refusing to tell Hideysaurus to just be braver, the resolution honest rather than easy, Chatterton drawing the gap between how the party looks to others and how it looks to her. Useful at nursery/school transitions for the retreating child.
- Bedtime appropriate
- Conversation starter
- Quick to read
- Beautiful illustrations
In the series
Dino Feelings.
7 books · open the series →
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
When you buy through the links above, we may earn a small commission — it never costs you more, and it never changes the books we choose. How we’re funded →