Dinotopia

Children's Literature - Children's Literature

This wonderful book is part StarWars, Jungle Book, and Jurassic Park. Will Denison, giant pterosaur pilot, knew that Dinotopia had once been threatened. Ages ago, the empire of Poseidos wanted to replace their natural world of humans and dinosaurs with technology. Gideon Altaire was the hero who saved Dinotopia. Will learns of Gideon's adventures by reading the history as it was preserved on a scroll. Gideon was a dreamer, and had so much trouble at flight school that he was eventually kicked out. When Gideon returned home that day, he found an injured pterosaur. Living on Poseidos, he knows no one was allowed to have animals. He took to the animal immediately and returned with it to his room where he bandaged its wing. That was the beginning of an adventure that would pit Gideon against his former flight instructor and send Gideon to Dinotopia. With the help of various animals, including some dinosaurs that Gideon met on Dinotopia, they are able to successfully defeat Poseidos' air scorpion. A very clever story that combines humans, dinosaurs and robots. The artwork is spectacular, delivering both fantastic cityscapes, intriguing characters and lush landscapes. A board game is included on the expanded inside front cover of the book. 1999, HarperCollins, Ages 6 to 12, $19.95. Reviewer: Kristin Harris

Children's Literature - Kristin Harris

This wonderful book is part StarWars, Jungle Book, and Jurassic Park. Will Denison, giant pterosaur pilot, knows that Dinotopia had once been threatened. Ages ago the empire of Poseidos wanted to replace their natural world of humans and dinosaurs with technology. Gideon Altaire was the hero who saved Dinotopia. Will learns about Gideon's adventures by reading the history as it was preserved on a scroll. Gideon was a dreamer--he had so much trouble at flight school that he was eventually kicked out. An orphan, Will wondered what his future would hold. As Gideon returned home that day, he found an injured pterosaur. Living on Poseidos, he knew no one was allowed to have animals. He took to the animal immediately and returned with it to his room where he bandaged its wing. That was the beginning of an adventure that would pit Gideon against his former flight instructor, and send Gideon to Dinotopia. With the help of robots and various animals, including some dinosaurs that Gideon met on Dinotopia, they were able to successfully defeat Poseidos' air scorpion. This is a very clever story that combines humans, dinosaurs and robots. The artwork is spectacular, delivering both fantastic cityscapes, intriguing characters and lush landscapes. A board game is included on the expanded inside front cover of the book.