Dinosaurs RoarInto Children’s Imaginations (NAPSA)}—They’re monsters, but they’re not aliens. They’re dangerous, but they’re not around anymore. They’re as big as a house, but you can’t see them coming. There are many theories as to whychildren are captivated by dinosaurs. The long-gone creatures are thought to tower above small imaginations, knocking down trees and sniffing their young with roaringnostrils. If you’re a child, you might imagine yourself in their world, cowering under bushes and praying that they don’t see you. Or you can imagine what it must be like to own one. One who, like a trained elephant, kneels gently to let you clamber up onto his back to parade the neighborhood as other kids clamorfor a ride. But why do dinosaurs stand head and shoulders above the competition when it come to kids? One of the foremost ideas is that, in the imagination of a child, dinosaurs can be anything. Because they’re extinct, dinosaurs can be whatever a child wants them to be. Although paleontologists speculate about their behavior based on their fossil skeletons, wereally don’t know how dinos sounded, what they thought, how they smelled, how they slept and so on. So children have greater leeway in imagining their behavior than that of living species. Today, there are many examples of dinosaurs that have made A dinosaur truck offers kids a variety of creative play options. their way into the youth-oriented culture, from movies and TV showsto toys, coloring books and even vitamins. Now there’s a sturdy vehicle that gives kids a host of playful, prehistoric options, with individual components that could be used apart from the main section for separate adventures. The Mega Rigs Dino Adventure truck from Matchbox lets kids age 4 and up create their own adventures by transforming and constructing the truck into smaller vehicles and accessories to prepare for their mission of capturing the dinosaur. The truck features easy-to-assemble pieces so kids can create unlimited, customizable adventures. Meanwhile, the dinosaur stomps, chomps and roars for realistic play action. The truck requires some assem- bly, as well as two AA batteries, which are included. To learn more, visit www.matchbox.com.
