The Great Dinosaur Mystery -- A Musical Fossil Fantasy

Dinorock | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 26, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder
• ASIN: B0000003IS
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,072 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

What is it with kids and dinosaurs? This fascinating fascination with all things homunculus and extinct seems as old as time itself. On The Great Dinosaur Mystery: A Musical Fossil Fantasy, a cast of characters (and dinosaurs, of course) move through a dinosaur discovery story with a collection of songs set in both the modern age and the Mesozoic era. Detective Joe Kafootsie and Dr. Vander Plaster Caster enlist the help of kids and a set of parents to find out what happened to the dinosaurs. The songs are upbeat, the styles varying from highly theatrical tangos to swing, country, and pop, and the plot is as much fun as your imagination will allow. Played like a radio drama of old, The Great Dinosaur Mystery does a wonderful job of teaching not only about dinosaurs, but also about good listening skills. Complete with lyrics and some legit facts about our lost megacreatures of long ago, Mystery answers basic questions about certain types of dinosaurs and why they became extinct. But it never even ventures a guess about why we're still so taken with their plight. Is it because, as the cast sings near the end of the record, "dinosaurs are forever?" --Martin Keller

From Parents' Choice®

Join singing paleontologist Dr. Vander PlasterCaster (Michele Valeri), Detective Joe Kafootsie (Joe Pipik), who's working the "strange phenomenon detail", and a bunch of captivating young kids as they try to solve the mystery of museum dinosaur exhibits that come to life-then disappear. Along the way, listeners are treated to some unusually creative, tongue-twisting, but still singable songs about the dinosaurs in question. The Italian-flavored "Mama Maiasaura," about how the "good mother lizard" cared for her babies, is one highlight; "The Bonehead Boogie" ("Pachycephalosaurus always used his head"- say that fast!) is another, and so is "Dinosaurs Forever!," a celebratory anthem that will resonate with any junior dino enthusiast. "Big, Bad Baby Rex"; "Baby Protoceratops"; "Boris Ankylosaurus"- performed in a variety of styles. There's not a sour note in this entire imaginative mix of education and entertainment. A 1998 Parents' Choice® Gold Award.

Reviewed by Lynne Heffley, Parents' Choice® 1998

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent music, scientifically accurate, August 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great Dinosaur Mystery -- A Musical Fossil Fantasy (Audio CD)

This CD is fun for adults, too. Most kids love dinosaurs, and this provides excellent music with scientifically accurate information about dinosaurs. It doesn't speak down to kids in terms of content or musical diversity; from blue-grass to zydeco and light rock, the musicianship is entertaining for all ages.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Road trip after dark? time for the greatest mystery of all!, May 7, 2002

By 

Very small business user (AZ, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Great Dinosaur Mystery -- A Musical Fossil Fantasy (Audio CD)

Highly recommended. Kids love it. More importantly, so do the parents. This CD is so special, it only comes out when we are on long road trips so that it does not become "over played". Once it is dark outside, the kids know that it is time for the Great Dinosaur Mystery.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still a hit at our house after 2 years, July 11, 2000

By 

Bridget Westhoven "VA winelady" (Richmond, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Great Dinosaur Mystery -- A Musical Fossil Fantasy (Audio CD)

My 3 and 5 year old children are going into their second year listening to this gem. I'm glad it's a CD and not an LP because it would have been worn out long ago. The Dino Rock folks also perform live with puppets (mainly in the D.C. area) and are wonderful.