Cryptid Hunters [Paperback]

Roland Smith (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

After their parents are lost in an accident, thirteen-year old twins Grace and Marty are whisked away to live with their Uncle Wolfe-an uncle that they didn't even know they had! The intimidating Uncle Wolfe is an anthropologist who has dedicated his life to finding cryptids, mysterious creatures believed to be long extinct.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–When their parents disappear, twins Marty and Grace, 13, are taken in by their Uncle Travis, who searches the world for supposedly mythical creatures. After a parachute fall from an airplane, the kids find themselves in the middle of the Congo, where a surviving dinosaur may still exist. While their conservationist uncle tries to rescue the children, an evil cryptid hunter who kills species rather than saving them pursues the creature. Marty and Grace each have distinct, if not terribly complex personalities, and their adventures are quite absorbing. The first part of the story moves fairly slowly as the characters and the concept of cryptozoology are introduced. Once the twins hit the jungle, though, things get exciting. Along with the atmospheric setting, narrow escapes, and ruthless villains, a couple of neat personal revelations are woven into the tale, affecting nearly everybody involved. Both kids show courage and ingenuity as they try to survive the wild and avoid being captured. Marty's photographic memory provides a vehicle for presenting many facts about the environment without detracting from the tale. Grace is more introverted as she conquers her fears and discovers a life-changing revelation about her past. With the intriguing plot and plenty of well-paced action, this novel has fine booktalk potential and makes a good choice for adventure fans.–Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. When twins Marty and Grace O'Hara discover that their adventurous parents have gone missing, they leave their Swiss boarding school and join their mysterious uncle, Travis Wolfe, on his island in Washington State. They soon learn that their uncle is one of the world's foremost authorities on cryptids (think Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster). Wolfe is scheduled to look for dinosaurs in the African jungle, and he plans to leave Marty and Grace in Europe before the expedition starts. Things go awry, however, when an accident plunges Marty and Grace into the middle of the Congolese jungle. Soon the henchmen of the evil Noah Blackwood are pursuing the twins. The action is nonstop in this well-paced jungle adventure, and Smith adds a deeper layer in scenes of Marty and Grace discovering truths about their complicated family relationships. Several loose ends suggest more cryptid-recovery expeditions to come. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (March 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786851627
• ISBN-13: 978-0786851621
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Dinosaurs > Fiction
  • #61 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Fiction
  • #87 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Dinosaurs

More About the Author

Roland Smith is a former zookeeper and leading expert on red wolves as well as an author. He lives on a small farm near Portland, Oregon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crypted Hunters Steven, December 12, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Cryptid Hunters (Hardcover)

Smith, Roland. (2005). Crypted Hunters.
New York: Hyperion books.

Two kids, Grace and Marty where living in New Zealand. There parents where never around. There parents where out somewhere climbing a mouton or something. One day there parents died in a Helicopter crash in the jungle. There parents where looking out for a man named Blackwood. Then the Grace got a message from her Uncle Travis Wolfe. Wolfe takes them to a place called Congo. The reason was to stop Blackwood from getting any Mokele-mbembe DNA. By the way Blackwood is this evil guy that wants a whole lot of money. Grace eventually kidnapped by Butch, Butch works for Blackwood. Butch told Grace everything about Wolfe being her father and Blackwood being her grandfather. Blackwood came to Congo and Marty tricked Blackwood with a fake Mokele-mbembe egg, but it was a ball from the nursery and they all got away in backwoods chopper.

Wolfe is a tall, big, one legged man. Wolfe lost his leg in fight agents a Mokele-mbembe.

When you read this book be prepared for some exiting things. I recommend when you read this book, have plenty of time to read it because it is the best book ever!

I rated this book 5 stares because of all the excitement and fun!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cryptid Hunters, December 7, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Cryptid Hunters (Hardcover)

Cryptid hunters is an amazing adventure about two kids whose parents die and they have to move in with their uncle, who is a scientist specialing in crypto zoology. Grace and Marty read about sasquatch, yeti, and chupacabra in their uncle Wolfe's library. Then they find out that their uncle is going on a trip into the jungle to find a creature that is very dangerous. The most exhilarating part is when Marty and Grace are in the bottom of the plane when the doors open to let the cargo go. They fall out of the plane and fall thousands of feet on a crate with a parachute. It is an amazing adventure as they wander through the jungle trying to survive on their own. Eventually they are rescued and head home to tell the amazing story about the jungle. Marty is a wise young man who likes to play practical jokes on people. When his sister and he are in the jungle he leads them through it and grows up a lot. Not only does he love his sister but he protects her and also rescues her from a poacher. So in the end Marty is a brave young man who loves adventre. Grace is a short, young woman who faints when she is afraid. She is very tough in the inside and smart. She is very intelligant and knew all about the cryptids because she read books about them. She ends up being captured by a poachers/hunter and is smart enough to find a way to get away from him. Wolfe is an amazing crypto zoolologist who loves his work and his neece and nephew. He is tough on the inside and knows more than anybody else when it comes to crypto zoology. He is also very good at traveling and surviving in the jungle. I rate this book a five beacuse not only is it a thriller but it is also an adventure. Once I started reading this book I couldn't put it down.



Isaac H.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down, November 23, 2005

By 

Sharon Mitchell "Media Goddess" (Athens, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cryptid Hunters (Hardcover)

This book was even better than I expected. I stayed up way later than someone who has to be up at 6 AM should because I was dying to see what happened next. There are great details about science, animals, the jungle, and survival skills. The writing is good enough that I was able to turn off my skeptical mind and accept the twins' implausible drop into the jungle. I also wondered at the end why the parent issue wasn't resolved, but I figured there is a sequel up the author's sleeve. That's OK with me--I'll read it and buy it for my elementary school library!