From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3—Young Flinn the dinosaur lover returns for a class trip to the museum. The boy is amazed by the skeleton of the ferocious Giganotosaurus, but becomes especially intrigued by the mysterious disappearance of one of the museum's other displays—the pirate treasure of Captain Rufus Rumblebelly. Flinn and his friends follow a trail of clues (overlooked by the museum staff, of course) to a dusty cupboard, which leads to the cabin of Rumblebelly's ship. Here they find the pirate's grandson tied up, having recently been robbed himself by singing pirate dinosaurs en route to Bag o' Bones Island. Captain Flinn takes the helm and eventually recovers the treasure from pirate Giganotosaurus, who is deathly afraid of the spider dangling from Flinn's hat. Ayto's childlike yet masterful mixed-media paintings of spiky-haired Flinn, the rotund pirate, and a fanciful cast of dinosaurs will keep audiences glued to the page. As in
Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs (S & S, 2005), the theme here is the beauty of a good imagination. Andreae pulls off another rousing tale for any young person who loves to dream big.—
Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Giles Andreae is the author of several children's books, including the best-selling
Giraffes Can't Dance, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees, and is also the creator of Purple Ronnie, one of the most successfully licensed cartoon characters in his native England. Giles lives with his wife and three children in Notting Hill, England.
Russell Ayto earned his degree in graphics at Exeter College of Art and Design in England. He has illustrated several award-winning picture books, such as
The Witch's Children and the Queen by Ursula Jones, which won the Gold Smarties Prize in 2003, and
Quacky Quack-Quack! by Ian Whybrow. Russell lives with his wife and three children in Penzance, England.
