Rex Stone

A little adventure, friendship goodness, and dinosaur facts meld to form an entertaining and informative read.

Jamie's at his mother's side as she uncrates several fossils to add to the sandbox table when he and Tess discover an odd looking bone: the crest of a Parasaurolophus. They've never seen anything like it and wonder what purpose it had for the dinosaur. No one seems to be able to answer their questions, which means they'll have to head outside to Ammonite Bay and climb to the show more Smuggler's cave to find out. With a small ammonite from the same time period in hand, they enter the cave and find themselves back in time. While they discover a cute Wannansaurus right away, they also cross paths with a dangerous T-Rex. Soon, their adventure involves much more than just learning the secret behind the parasaurolophus' crest.

This is a well-done book, which holds enough tension to draw in while teaching readers about dinosaurs along the way. It's just right for those readers, who are sure of their words and happily diving into shorter books. The font and spacing are on the larger side for easy reading, and there are enjoyable illustrations on almost every page. Those pages without illustrations hold speech bubbles with media text messages. So, there's an enjoyable change-up to keep things interesting. There's also a glossary at the end of the read to help with more difficult words, a dinosaur/period timeline, a map of their dino-world, illustrated facts about the main dinosaurs in the story, and a short quiz to help the information sit (and check reading skills). It's a book packed with goodness.

The story flows very smoothly and draws in. Not only are there constant twists and turns as the two characters search Dino World for their answers, but both characters are enjoyable to follow. They are cheerful, curious, and hold exactly the right emotions at the right times. They are friendly and just enjoyable to go on an adventure with.

It's a lovely tale and not only for dinosaur fans. show less

A great read for boys! Not only it's a full action packed adventures in a land of dinosaurs (hell yeah!) but, it's cleverly made too. The vocabulary used is complex -there's a lot of tricky words here, being a fantastic challenge for confident little readers and, also a great opportunity to broaden a child's lexicon. There's some nice bits to take away in general knowledge too (a small glossary at the end is an appreciated bonus). The drawings are also very realistic -sketched in black and show more white, they really add to the fast and tense pace of the story. My boy really enjoyed it! In fact, he can't wait to read the next one in the collection... And I can't wait to get him either! show less

I read this one to my son, and he really enjoyed the story. The characters were easy to relate to, and the dinosaurs were interesting. I admit he was a little scared by the T-Rex, but mostly for the drama. ;-) I am planning to get the second book and see how it goes. I am hoping he lasts longer with this series than he did with Magic Tree House.

An entertaining read that any dino-lover kid can enjoy! It works perfectly for early readers, and the illustrations make the read more engaging for the little ones. I recommend it if you are looking to spark interest for dinosaurs in a kid, and this book works fine as an introduction to the Dinosaur Cove series.