Dinoverse [Hardcover]

Scott Ciencin (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

I was a teenage T. Rex!

Survival of the fittest has always been the rule at Wetherford Junior High. So when Bertram Phillips's science fair project sends his mind back 67 million years, he's well prepared. After all, as the class brain, he's learned how to avoid predators.

But Bertram's not prepared for his new tanklike, spike-backed Ankylosaurus form. He's become a dinosaur--and so have three other fellow students.

Mike, the star quarterback who's never had much of a killer instinct, must wrestle with the hunger pangs of a T. Rex. Candayce, the beauty queen, is forced to suffer the thunder thighs of a Leptoceratops, while the morose Janine now soars blissfully on the wings of a Pterodactyl.

With prehistoric perils at every turn, Bertram, Mike, Candayce, and Janine band together to find their way back home in what were once their own back yards.

Theirs is an amazing, wildly comical, and very human journey...through the Age of Dinosaurs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dinotopia fans hungry for more Mesozoic adventure will happily devour this time-travel saga featuring four junior high school students. It all begins at the science fair when whiz kid Bertram's M.I.N.D. (Memory INterpreter Device) Machine zaps him and three classmates (graffiti artist Janine, pretty but vicious Candayce and football player Mike) back 67 million years. After being knocked unconscious, the students awake to find themselves transformed into a motley crew of prehistoric beasts. The serious problem of finding a way to return to the 1990's is lightened considerably by the teens' comic attempts to adjust to their new forms. Bertram, now an Ankylosaurus, is plagued with a chronic farting problem. Candayce is, ironically, turned into a Leptoceratops ("What had happened to her?" she asks herself. "Her thighs were enormous! And she had a pot belly!") The meat of the drama, however, has mostly to do with the foursome's development of survival skillsAfinding food, warding off enemies and escaping natural disasterAand their private journeys to discover who they really are on the "inside." Although scientific facts about the era are woven into the plot a little too self-consciously, Ciencin's (Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island) enticing blend of humor, adolescent angst and crisis-a-chapter excitement may hook even reluctant readers. Final artwork not seen by PW. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Four seventh graders bond and blossom in this novel with a twist. When nerdy Bertram's electronic science project goes haywire, he and three classmates-hunky Mike, rebellious Janine, and catty beauty-queen Candayce-wake up in the Cretaceous Era as, respectively, a tanklike Ankylosaurus, a Tyrannosaurus, a Quetzalcoatlus, and a thunder-thighed Leptoceratops. Thanks to a message sent back through time by their science teacher, they know that to get back they must reach a certain hilltop hundreds of miles away-so off they stomp (or, in Janine's case, soar), discovering one another's redeeming qualities as they work together to escape various perils. Ciencin leans hard on a running gag (so to speak) involving the massive clouds of gas that Bertram's vegetarian diet produces, and the plot is built on contrivances that would trip a Supersaurus. Still, nearly every one of the 42 chapters ends in a cliffhanger, and as the author has done his dino homework thoroughly (a glossary and reading list are appended), the populous prehistoric supporting cast looks and acts as authentically as current theory allows. Fredericks's occasional line drawings don't always agree with the text, but they do give uninitiated readers a sense of what the major beasts looked like. Fans of Alan Dean Foster's The Hand of Dinotopia (HarperCollins, 1999) and like novels will roar over this long but lightweight cousin.
John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (March 23, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067988842X
• ISBN-13: 978-0679888420
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,241,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dinoverse, December 30, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Dinoverse (Hardcover)

This is honestly one of the best books I have ever read. Dinoverse, with it's clever plot and believable, realistic characters, is a fantastic read that I would recommend to anyone.
Bertram Philips, the class brainiac, has built a science fair project called the M.I.N.D. Machine(Memory INterpreter Device). But the Machine goes crazy and takes Bertram back in time. He finds himself 67 million years in the past, in the body of an Ankylosaurus. Then Bertram discovers He's not alone. 3 other students also got stranded. Mike Peterefsky, the star football player, is trapped in the form of a T. rex. Candayce Chambers, the beauty queen, becomes a thunder-thighed Leptoceratops. And finally, Janine Farehouse, a graffiti artist, is tossed into the body of a Quetzalcoatlus. Together the foursome must endure fires, floods, earthquakes, and hungry dinosaurs to reach the hilltop where lies their only chance of getting home. Along the way they learn about themselves and their lives and form lasting friendships. It's funny, adventurous, and, in places, touching. You won't regret reading this great novel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dinoverse (Hardcover)

This is a really good book. It is about four jr. high kids who get sent back in the Mesazoic ( the time of the dinosaurs ). It happens when Bertram ( one of the kids ) does a science project that he calls the M.I.N.D. Machine. The M.I.N.D. Machine goes wrong and the kids are sent to the Mesazoic. The kids are Bertram, a kid who gets teased a lot and turns into a Ankylosaurs, a tank-like, spiky dinosaur, Candayce, a popular girl who turns into a Leptoceratops, a fat, pudgy dinosaur ( Candayce does NOT like to be a Leptoceratops ), Mike, a star football player who turns into a T. Rex, well everyone knows what a T. Rex is like, and last Janine, a girl who nobody likes turns into a majestic Pterodactyl, the flying one. These kids have to face the challenges of being a dinosaur in this book. Read this book to find out what happens! I would recommend this book to anybody.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dinoverse: a funny book, April 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dinoverse (Hardcover)

This book is about four kids who get sent back to the time of the dinosaurs by someone's science project. They get into a big, big mess. The book was funny, but I don't want to give away any of the jokes. The author ended the book just at the right time to make you want to read the next book.