Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure [Hardcover]

Durell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1990 | Age Level: 7 and up

Two children travel back through time with their great uncle in his time machine, intending to rescue baby dinosaurs from evil villains.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2 Up-- This book shares many problems with its predecessor, The Fantastic Flying Machine (S. & S., 1989). It's unfortunate, because the premise is good: a time machine whisks the Dollybutt children back to dinosaur days in search of Sir Jasper Collywobble, a crook who's stolen their original time machine in order to go game hunting in prehistoric times. Durrell's at his best when he sticks to straight naturalist writing--describing the flora of the Jurassic period, for example, as seen through the children's eyes. But his crossovers to fantasy--having dinosaurs speak, for instance, or having children able to name the dinosaurs by sight--seem maudlin and contrived. While readers get snippets of Durrell's talent as a writer, most of this tale (and its bland illustrations) never lives up even to the quirkiness of the Dollybutt name. Cliched illustrations of white children and a swarthy villain do little to counteract racial stereotypes. And on top of all this, when the Dollybutts finally return to the present, with dinosaur babies in tow, what do they do but use their prehistoric friends for endorsements of products on television ads! A crass ending to a sadly unsuccessful story. --Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 95 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (September 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671708716
• ISBN-13: 978-0671708719
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,190,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Storytelling at its best, March 21, 2003

By 

James R. F. Marlow (Summit, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure (Hardcover)

Gerald Durrell's books, The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure, and The Fantastic Flying Journey are two of my family's favorite books. Gerald Durrell wrote over 35 books, mainly for adults, about his real life adventures all over the globe collecting animals for zoos, primarily for the zoo he founded, and funded through his books, on the island of Jersey.
Durrell had a life-long love of animals, first described in his book My Family and Other Animals, an autobiographical account of his unusual childhood, growing up on the island of Corfu, where his mother brought Gerald (age 10) and her three older children, at the badgering of the eldest, Lawrence Durrell (author of The Alexandria Quartet), in order to escape the cold, wet weather of England.
The Fantastic Flying Journey and The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure describe the adventures and mishaps of "Great Uncle Lancelot" and the Dollybutt children, Emma and her twin brothers, Ivan and Conrad. In The Fantastic Flying Journey, they travel around the world, in a self-contained eco-system house, carried by a hot-air balloon, the Belladonna. Great Uncle Lancelot has persuaded Mrs. Dollybutt to let him take her children with him, while he searches for his brother Percival. Percival had invented some special powder which enabled the wearer to speak to, and be understood by, animals. Thus they were able to trace the route followed by Percival. It's a charming tale, relished by young and old.
Our daughter's third grade teacher used the book as part of a year-long project, because it encompassed so many topics.
The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure is the story of the second journey made by Great Uncle Lancelot and the Dollybutt children, as they travel back in time to the Age (actually there are 3 ages) of the Dinosaurs, to help save the dinosaurs from an evil Dinosaur hunter who has stolen a time machine. Saving animals from hunters and from extinction due to the destruction of their environment was a real-life theme for Durrell. It was/is the purpose for his zoo, and he was the first person to impress upon zoos of the world a need for a calling greater than entertainment, i.e., to teach people about animals and to help save animals from extinction by founding breeding pairs to keep the species alive.
Durrell's warm humor and love of animals permeates his books, which are both entertaining and cleverly educational. The illustrations in both these books heighten the readers' enjoyment.

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books ever!!!, December 21, 2009

By 

Kim Lincoln "book queen" (PITTSBURGH, PA, US) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure (Hardcover)

This advanced picture book is one of my three teenagers, my husband's and my all time favorites. We recently realized we couldn't find our personal copy of it and The Fantastic Flying Journey so we immediately tried to track down replacements. Now my 8 year old has had a chance to become equally enthralled with these 2 books by naturalist Durrell.