My Daniel [Paperback]

Pam Conrad (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1991 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

"All I want to find is one dinosaur," Daniel was saying. "And I'll find it right here. Like I do all my fossils." Wandering through the Natural History Museum with her grandchildren, Julia Creath feels the presence of her dead brother, Daniel, she remembers a time when fossil fever hit everyone, old and young -- a time when people would kill for those old bones under the ground. Julia becomes the Nebraska farm girl she once was, as she weaves together the story of the great dinosaur rush -- an adventurous tale of love and treachery, but most of all the story of her own childhood, and of the older brother she loved more than anything. Daniel had a dream that julia shared -- and the she alone would see come true.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In PW 's words, "Conrad is at the peak of her storytelling powers" in this adventurous tale that "tautly builds suspense and culminates in a scene of epiphanic intensity." Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- When she's 80 years old, Julia Summerwaithe decides to visit her grandchildren, Ellie and Stevie, in New York City, for the first time. She has something important to show them; in the Natural History Museum is the dinosaur she and her brother discovered on their farm in Nebraska when they were young. But even more important to Julia than seeing the dinosaur is sharing her memories of the discovery and excavation with her grandchildren. Through their grandmother's description of her rugged prairie childhood, her brother's untimely death, and the discovery of the dinosaur fossil, Ellie and Steve relive their grandmother's childhood adventures. Readers will be drawn into Julia's story, just as her grandchildren are, until her memories become more involving than modern-day surroundings. Although this book has less historical basis than Lasky's The Bone Wars (Morrow, 1988), the characterization of the grandmother makes the story more believable and more memorable. It's a shame that the other characters in this book, including the grandchildren, aren't as well defined as Julia. And the racist portrayal of an evil fossil collector's female companion is inexcusable in such an otherwise well written story. --Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (April 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064403092
• ISBN-13: 978-0064403092
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > Fiction > Exploration & Discoveries
  • #29 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Exploration & Discoveries
  • #100 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Social Issues > Death & Dying

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "BAPTISM IN MUD AND MEMORIES", February 28, 1999

By 

Plume45 "kitka12345" (Westchester, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Daniel (Paperback)

Prairie girl Julie Creath adores her older brother, Daniel, idolizing him over three generations. These two enjoy a unique and intense bond of love--the only surviving children of a Nebraska farm family, living in a primitive soddy. But the youth has grand dreams: to find his own dinosaur skeleton and sell it for a small fortune, thus saving the family farm. Bones and Bravery are all he needs--plus the devotion and quick wit of his little sister.

Noble aspirations truly, but naive Daniel is soon to be initiated into the dirty business of dinosaur hunting, excavating and profiteering. He is unprepared for unscrupulous men who lie, deceive, cheat and even commit murder for gain and fame. Three gutsy kids try to protect their amazing creekside discovery, but beware the snakelike antagonist with deadly dreams of avarice.

Mostly flashbacks, the book engages in time-shifting--a literary seesaw which keeps readers alert as we glide between Present and Past in the same chapter. Young Julie's passionate memories of that fateful summer are intertwined with her long-savored trip to a city museuem with her grandchildren, to whom she confides the entire tale. This spunky Grandmother has a private agenda, as she saves Dinosaur Hall for the last. Will she bring a little sourvenir of her girlhood, as she seeks to put closure on a painful wound which has haunted her all her life? What emotions and memories will be`resurrected as she confronts the reconstructed skeleton? This is an emotionally exciting, dramatic read, pervaded by grim foreboding. Should be of equal interest to boys and girls.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My thoughts of the Book My Daniel, December 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: My Daniel (Library Binding)

Julis Creath, now Julia Summerwaite, is taking her grandchildren through a history museum when she remembers her young life when her brother was alive. Julia tells the story to her grandchildren of when her brother got dinoasaur bone finding fever. I really like this book. It leads you from one page to another, not even realizing you're turning the page. Daniel, Julis's brother, finds dinoasaur bones, but has trouble with a greedy paleontologist that is trying to take the bones for himself. During the commotion Daniel gets hit by lighting and is killed. Then Daniel's pa takes over. Julia also has a little something to show her grandchildren in the museum.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Daniel, January 7, 2001

By 

Teresa C. Hart (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Daniel (Paperback)

This was my favorite childhood book. It inspired me to want to become a paleontologist. I find the study of dinosaurs fascinating. I am now 18 and just re-read it recently. I was just as intrigued with it now as when I was an 8-year-old child. A beautiful book that everyone should read.