Dinotopia: First Flight [Hardcover]

James Gurney (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1999 | Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Dinotopia

In Dinotopia: First Flight, the third book in the best-selling Dinotopia series, we travel back to Dinotopia's ancient past, where the empire of Poseidos is about to use its robot technology to exterminate the peaceful dinosaurs of Dinotopia. Only Gideon Altaire, an orphan, can stop this evil plan--but first he must get out of Poseidos and win the trust of the dinosaurs.

This action-packed addition to the Dinotopia series tells of a time in Dinotopia's past where humans and dinosaurs fought side by side to save their world from extinction. As an added bonus, the front cover opens up into a beautifully illustrated board game! Complete with game cards in the back, this book and board game offer hours of family entertainment.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Brightly colored, exquisitely detailed prehistoric creatures brimming with personality square off against menacing-looking mechanical monsters in this luxuriantly illustrated-but lamely plotted-prequel to Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time (Turner, 1992; o.p.) and its spin-offs. Having replaced all of its animals with massive, iron-gray robots, the Empire of Poseidos mounts an attack on Highnest, home of Dinotopia's pterosaurs. Luckily, young Poseidonian orphan Gideon Altaire, along with (taking a cue from the Disney bible) a gaggle of cute, squabbling nonhuman sidekicks, arrives to save the day. Children will be drawn to the flashy, dramatic paintings, but are likely to skip the text-especially since isolated lines printed in larger, differently colored type serve as captions to each scene. A fold-out game board with perforated sheets of character and action cards makes this problematic for libraries, even without the trite story line. Alan Dean Foster's full-length "Dinotopia" novels (HarperCollins) have more to offer.
John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

James Gurney's fantasy art has appeared on the covers of more than 70 books, and his art appears regularly in National Geographic. He is the author and illustrator of Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time, Dinotopia: The World Beneath, and is currently working on his third Dinotopia book, which will be published in Fall 2000. He lives in the Hudson Valley of New York State with his family.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (October 31, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060280077
• ISBN-13: 978-0060280079
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Gurney is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Dinotopia book series, which has been translated into eighteen languages in thirty-two countries. He designed the World of Dinosaurs stamps for the United States Postal Service and has worked on assignment for National Geographic magazine, painting reconstructions of Moche, Etruscan, and similar civilizations. His unique blending of fact and fantasy has won Hugo, Chesley, Spectrum, and World Fantasy Awards. An exhibition of the artwork from Dinotopia began at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. and will continue in the fall of 2007 at the Los Angeles Public Library and the Oshkosh Public Museum in Wisconsin. Gurney lives in the Hudson River Valley of New York with his wife, two sons, and a blue parakeet, a living descendant of dinosaurs. For more information, visit www.dinotopia.com.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dinotopia First Flight, March 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dinotopia: First Flight (Hardcover)

There can be no doubt that James Gurney's painting are absolulty lovely, whimsical, thoughtful, interesting and beautiful. I enjoyed both "Dinotopia" and "Dinotopia The World Beneath". "Dinotopia First Flight", however does not come close to the these two in story or character development. It has cookie cutter characters and is quite predictable. The game included is of little interest to children. The pictures are great, but I'm disappointed.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Definately does not live up to expectations., October 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dinotopia: First Flight (Hardcover)

If you haven't bought the first two Dinotopia books (Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time and Dinotopia: The World Beneath), buy them. They are surely two of the greatest books in almost any genre written in the last 30 years. If you have, read them again instead of buying this. It is a big disappointment and is basically just an average book. But, I would recommend looking at it at a bookstore also, just in case you think it is worth the money...

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Surpringly disappointing, November 1, 1999

By 

"dt34" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dinotopia: First Flight (Hardcover)

I just have to say this. He's my very favorite illustrator. His first 2 books are 2 of the best books I bought. But this one is inferior by fay to the other 2 books. Maybe he didn't have time, or the editer had bad taste. It's really sad to see it happens that the quality drops dramatically. But I hope Mr. Garney reads this and think about it. Because every one of us expects a lot from one of the greatest illustrator of our time.