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Secret Agent Jack Stalwart #1
The Escape of the Deadly Dinosaur: USA
An eager young scientist has brought to life a dangerous flesh-eating dinosaur by crossing its DNA with that of his pet dog, Freddie. Can Secret Agent Jack Stalwart capture the dinosaur before it destroys New York City?
130 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 25, 2004
120 people are currently reading
642 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
November 4, 2010
A good adventure book for young boys. Reading level is probably 3rd grade or so, but younger kids will like it read aloud. Jack Stalwart is a 9-year old secret agent. He's sent to New York City to find the whereabouts of a missing allosaurus bone and ends up having to keep a marauding dinosaur from destroying the city. Jack comes equipped with a special flying skateboard, goo gel, and other high tech gadgets to assist him in the adventure. Best of all, his magic map lets him to do all this and still arrive back home only one minute after he left! His parents never need to know.
Adventure fiction, read aloud to young elementary school aged kids, self-reading probably 3rd grade and up. Will mostly appeal to boys.
Adventure fiction, read aloud to young elementary school aged kids, self-reading probably 3rd grade and up. Will mostly appeal to boys.
December 1, 2010
I liked this book because it's easy to read and I enjoy mystery books where you have to find out who did something. I recommend this book to people who like mysteries. I think that Jack's magic map is pretty cool. The things Jack has may not be real but they are cool, like an anti-intruder alarm built into his agent watch phone and a power pogo. Jack is in a special program called GPF, the gobal protection force and his brother is an agent just like him. So, Jack goes around the world on missions. He is very confident and never gives up. He also has a very good eye.
October 27, 2020
03/20/18 My 4 year old had me read this entire chapter book aloud to him today in one sitting. He loved it and sat still for the whole book! Yes! I'm raising a reader! 😄
June 5, 2021
Nine year old secret agent Jack Stalwart is called to action (in the USA) when a dinosaur bone from the Natural Museum of History is stolen! With the aid of several super cool spy gadgets, his training with the GPF (Global Protection Force), and his own wits and intelligence, Jack must solve the crime before a giant dinosaur destroys New York City!
Full review of the book/series is below, but the TL;DR is this: Great book series for introducing young readers to longer chapter books with engaging characters and action-packed plots. Bonus - good educational value in helping youngsters start to learn about world geography.
CAUTION: From book two on, the books get a bit violent. There is always a villain, and they are often actively trying to kill Jack or someone else. There are guns, knives, and even threat of death by Komodo dragon. One book talks about beheadings (that was a fun conversation I wasn't expecting to have). So just a word of warning to those who may not want their kids exposed to things like that yet.
************
This is the first book in the Secret Agent Jack Stalwart series (14 books in all). I originally discovered this series as a way to explore geography with my 6 year old son who loves learning, but not being taught (if that makes sense). He also loves reading, so finding engaging books that also have accurate educational value cleverly mixed in is key in our home. This book series seems to fit the bill nicely.
This book was entertaining and engaging - it caught my 6 year old son's attention very quickly and held it. At 128 pages, it took us just two nights to finish this book (it was difficult getting my son to bed the first night because he wanted just one more chapter..one more page..one more sentence!). I had initially checked out books 1-3 from the library, and we finished them within a week. I immediately logged back onto the library website and requested all of the remaining books.
There are lots of things I'm loving about this book series. As stated, my son loves reading, or more accurately, being read to. He can read at a 2nd grade level currently, but prefers someone else to read to him. This series is helping to change that. When picking what to bring on a car ride, he now chooses whatever Jack Stalwart book we're currently reading. When I have to put his baby sister to bed, he'll sit in his room patiently for quiet reading time and read, what else, Jack Stalwart of course! At this point, he's reading more of the book than I am (so unfortunately I'm missing a lot of the plot and action...haha).
I also really appreciate the geographical focus - each book takes place in a different country. At the beginning of every book, there are a couple of pages devoted to fun facts about whatever country Jack is going to be visiting, along with a map showing where the country is located. Admittedly, my son does groan a bit when I read those pages to him (see above regarding his dislike of being taught), but if I give big reactions ("Oh, wow, I didn't know this!" "This is so cool, listen to this..."), he instantly becomes more interested. Again, the whole reason I even found these books is because I was looking for a way to introduce my son to world geography in a fun and engaging way. Success.
Overall, this book (and series) are a great segue into chapter books for young readers. It does a great job of really fostering a love of reading-for-pleasure by featuring a relatable main character (young boy) doing heroic and adventurous things, being independent, and exhibiting creative problem solving. It's also simple enough that young readers can follow along and start to read them independently. The fact that each book focuses on a different country with lots of great educational tidbits about that country peppered throughout is a huge bonus.
There is an underlying subplot of these books wherein Jack is trying to discover what's happened to his older brother, 11 year old Max. His family has been told that Max (who also works for the GPF) has been accepted to a fancy boarding school in Switzerland but Jack knows it's all a farce. There is always some mention of the mission to find Max, and in I think two of the eight or so books we've read so far there have been clues found, but I would still say you don't necessarily need to read these in chronological order. Though ideally I would prefer to read them that way, we have skipped around a bit based on what the library has had available and it hasn't been a problem. When mentioning a clue found in a previous book, a thorough enough recap is given that you don't feel like you're missing anything.
Full review of the book/series is below, but the TL;DR is this: Great book series for introducing young readers to longer chapter books with engaging characters and action-packed plots. Bonus - good educational value in helping youngsters start to learn about world geography.
CAUTION: From book two on, the books get a bit violent. There is always a villain, and they are often actively trying to kill Jack or someone else. There are guns, knives, and even threat of death by Komodo dragon. One book talks about beheadings (that was a fun conversation I wasn't expecting to have). So just a word of warning to those who may not want their kids exposed to things like that yet.
************
This is the first book in the Secret Agent Jack Stalwart series (14 books in all). I originally discovered this series as a way to explore geography with my 6 year old son who loves learning, but not being taught (if that makes sense). He also loves reading, so finding engaging books that also have accurate educational value cleverly mixed in is key in our home. This book series seems to fit the bill nicely.
This book was entertaining and engaging - it caught my 6 year old son's attention very quickly and held it. At 128 pages, it took us just two nights to finish this book (it was difficult getting my son to bed the first night because he wanted just one more chapter..one more page..one more sentence!). I had initially checked out books 1-3 from the library, and we finished them within a week. I immediately logged back onto the library website and requested all of the remaining books.
There are lots of things I'm loving about this book series. As stated, my son loves reading, or more accurately, being read to. He can read at a 2nd grade level currently, but prefers someone else to read to him. This series is helping to change that. When picking what to bring on a car ride, he now chooses whatever Jack Stalwart book we're currently reading. When I have to put his baby sister to bed, he'll sit in his room patiently for quiet reading time and read, what else, Jack Stalwart of course! At this point, he's reading more of the book than I am (so unfortunately I'm missing a lot of the plot and action...haha).
I also really appreciate the geographical focus - each book takes place in a different country. At the beginning of every book, there are a couple of pages devoted to fun facts about whatever country Jack is going to be visiting, along with a map showing where the country is located. Admittedly, my son does groan a bit when I read those pages to him (see above regarding his dislike of being taught), but if I give big reactions ("Oh, wow, I didn't know this!" "This is so cool, listen to this..."), he instantly becomes more interested. Again, the whole reason I even found these books is because I was looking for a way to introduce my son to world geography in a fun and engaging way. Success.
Overall, this book (and series) are a great segue into chapter books for young readers. It does a great job of really fostering a love of reading-for-pleasure by featuring a relatable main character (young boy) doing heroic and adventurous things, being independent, and exhibiting creative problem solving. It's also simple enough that young readers can follow along and start to read them independently. The fact that each book focuses on a different country with lots of great educational tidbits about that country peppered throughout is a huge bonus.
There is an underlying subplot of these books wherein Jack is trying to discover what's happened to his older brother, 11 year old Max. His family has been told that Max (who also works for the GPF) has been accepted to a fancy boarding school in Switzerland but Jack knows it's all a farce. There is always some mention of the mission to find Max, and in I think two of the eight or so books we've read so far there have been clues found, but I would still say you don't necessarily need to read these in chronological order. Though ideally I would prefer to read them that way, we have skipped around a bit based on what the library has had available and it hasn't been a problem. When mentioning a clue found in a previous book, a thorough enough recap is given that you don't feel like you're missing anything.
January 20, 2021
My 8 year old was super excited for this book. But basically refused to read it because the pictures show a dinosaur with two-fingers (clearly a T-Rex), but the story is about an Allosaurus (who all have three fingers). That the author couldn't get this simple detail right made him unwilling to read what else they had to say. The story seemed otherwise engaging, if maybe a little out there.
November 30, 2018
The Escape of The Deadly Dinosaur by Elizabeth Singer Hunt is an awesome book in my opinion. I think it is an awesome book because I think learning about animals that lived millions of years ago is awesome. Also by talking to a map it brings Jack wherever he wants. The main character in the story are Jack Stalwart. This book is about a very smart boy named Jack Stalwart that is 9 years old and teleports from his home to The Big Apple in a blink of an eye, to investigate a stolen toe on an Allosaurus dinosaur in a museum. Jack searches and searches and finally finds this kid that is making an Allosaurus in his bedroom and together they have to stop it before it destroys New York City for good! This would be a great book for anyone who is interested in adventures!
December 30, 2018
Es geht um den 9 jährigen Jack, der in die ‘Fußstapfen’ seines größeren Bruders, Max, treten möchte. Er bewirbt sich, nachdem der Bruder verschwunden ist, bei der GGS (Globale Geheime Sicherheitskräfte) und wird auch als Geheimagent angenommen.
Jack hat einige Gadgets, die echt cool sind und ihm bei seinen Missionen helfen sollen. Wie, zum Beispiel, bei diesem Fall: Der Knochen eines Dinosaurier Skeletts ist verschwunden und Jack soll in New York City dieses Rätsel lösen und begibt sich dabei in Gefahr.
Das Buch ist für Kinder ab 6 Jahren geeignet, aber es ist nicht so ‘kindisch’, wie viele andere, die für diese Altersgruppe vorgesehen sind.
Im Gegenteil, auf Grund dessen, dass der Protagonist selbst schon 9 ist, wird dieses Buch sogar richtig cool.
Zusammen mit meinem 6 jährigen Sohn hab ich es gelesen und kann durchaus bestätigen: Mit 6 Jahren ist es möglich, es schon selbst zu lesen. Es gibt ein paar schwierige Wörter, aber zu 90 % ist die Sprache und Schrift sehr einfach, die Wörter sind gut durchdacht und man braucht einem Kind nichts zu erklären, da sich alles selbst erübrigt.
Mein Sohn hatte Spaß daran gehabt, auch wenn er wahrscheinlich gerne mehr coole Gadgets gesehen hätte. Aber der Dinosaurier hat den Spannungsbogen aufrechterhalten und die Illustrationen haben dazu beigetragen, dass man sich noch etwas mehr vorstellen konnte.
Ein tolles Buch für Schulanfänger, aber auch für andere. Denn man kann es wirklich gut alleine lesen und lernt auch noch einiges. Es gibt Fakten über New York City und Dinosaurier. Die Gadgets werden am Anfang beschrieben und es wird erklärt, wie sie funktionieren.
Die Storyline ist auch etwas für 9 jährige.
Von mir gibt es 4.5/5 Sterne.
Jack hat einige Gadgets, die echt cool sind und ihm bei seinen Missionen helfen sollen. Wie, zum Beispiel, bei diesem Fall: Der Knochen eines Dinosaurier Skeletts ist verschwunden und Jack soll in New York City dieses Rätsel lösen und begibt sich dabei in Gefahr.
Das Buch ist für Kinder ab 6 Jahren geeignet, aber es ist nicht so ‘kindisch’, wie viele andere, die für diese Altersgruppe vorgesehen sind.
Im Gegenteil, auf Grund dessen, dass der Protagonist selbst schon 9 ist, wird dieses Buch sogar richtig cool.
Zusammen mit meinem 6 jährigen Sohn hab ich es gelesen und kann durchaus bestätigen: Mit 6 Jahren ist es möglich, es schon selbst zu lesen. Es gibt ein paar schwierige Wörter, aber zu 90 % ist die Sprache und Schrift sehr einfach, die Wörter sind gut durchdacht und man braucht einem Kind nichts zu erklären, da sich alles selbst erübrigt.
Mein Sohn hatte Spaß daran gehabt, auch wenn er wahrscheinlich gerne mehr coole Gadgets gesehen hätte. Aber der Dinosaurier hat den Spannungsbogen aufrechterhalten und die Illustrationen haben dazu beigetragen, dass man sich noch etwas mehr vorstellen konnte.
Ein tolles Buch für Schulanfänger, aber auch für andere. Denn man kann es wirklich gut alleine lesen und lernt auch noch einiges. Es gibt Fakten über New York City und Dinosaurier. Die Gadgets werden am Anfang beschrieben und es wird erklärt, wie sie funktionieren.
Die Storyline ist auch etwas für 9 jährige.
Von mir gibt es 4.5/5 Sterne.
January 11, 2018
Awesome
January 24, 2012
I read this book with my ten-year old son. It's a simple, exciting adventure story about a school-aged spy that was fun to read. However, as a Brit (we live in the U.S.) I must have a little moan on behalf of Britain- England specifically; my issue, which my son also picked up on, is that the author, who is clearly American, doesn't know how English people talk! On page 2 Jack's mum says to him, "The Book of the Month book club sure does send you quite a few books." I think a little research would show that an English person would never use the word 'sure' in that sentence. Replace it with certainly. It's such a small thing, but it is jarring. Jack, who has lived in England since he was 2, seems to speak with an American accent as well, which is surprising. There are too many examples to note, but most included that oh-so-American word "sure", such as "sure thing", "sure do" etc. Okay, I know it's a kid's book, but still, a little authenticity would be nice (ok, you tell me, a dog turned into a dinosaur after a kid stole a toe from a museum and you want authenticity??? Well, I believe that could happen, so yeah ;) )
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May 20, 2011This book was entertaining but not very well written. I liked the gadgets the kid used but it wasn't realistic and the characters in the book weren't surprised when the kid pulls out a board that flies or changes into blades for ice. In that sense, it was weird. Oh, and there was a giant dinosaur in the present.
January 29, 2012
I've read it to my son and we both liked it...I'd borowed it in our library and read it in Slovenian language, but only first and second one are translated....I hope that they will translate all the others....
Prebrala sem jo sinu in obema je bila všeč...sposodila sem si jo v naši knjižnici in sicer slovesko izdajo, prevedena je samo še druga knjiga...upam da bodo prevedli še ostale....
Prebrala sem jo sinu in obema je bila všeč...sposodila sem si jo v naši knjižnici in sicer slovesko izdajo, prevedena je samo še druga knjiga...upam da bodo prevedli še ostale....
July 15, 2008
I liked this book because the gadgets were out of this world! What I also liked was the dinosaur developing from a dog named Freddie. Jack is my favorite character becasue he is the secret agent working for the Global Protection Force (GPF).
May 12, 2010
I love this book. I'd give one thousand, infinity, infinity, infinity stars. I like it too much. I've already read number 1-5. Well, I'm out of space. I'll see you in the next one I write. Well, I won't see you. I can't see you through the computer.
September 29, 2010
It was ok because it was achly Freidy (the dog)because tomas
put a dinosaurs leg on him.It was also OK because Jack used
his flyboard,goo tube and lots more.It also had everything
you ought to know about the allosaurus and new york city(utherwise know as the big apele)in usa.
put a dinosaurs leg on him.It was also OK because Jack used
his flyboard,goo tube and lots more.It also had everything
you ought to know about the allosaurus and new york city(utherwise know as the big apele)in usa.
August 25, 2011
This is a wonderful series for young boys. It has adventure as well as learning some basic facts about different countries. This would be easy to work into a lead in for social studies. My boys are hooked and can't wait to the next book comes in.
March 6, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2009
Great books for the kid who love spies and detectives! The author has new clever gadgets for the nine year old spy in each book. These have been a big hit in our house!
June 18, 2009
More secret agent fare for younger readers; info about Natural History Museum and dinosaurs; maybe level O?
September 25, 2010
It is really awesome
May 20, 2011
awesome book!
just like the others.
just like the others.
July 6, 2011
Secret agent first chapter series, for early elementary espionage.
August 15, 2011
i liked this book a lot and it had a lot of action
November 30, 2011
A great book for kids who have outgrown the Magic Treehouse books and want a little adventure in their lives. Jack is smart, earnest, brave -- and has cool gadgets! What could be better?
August 24, 2014
Just totally dumb. Really. On every level imaginable.
January 10, 2020
Michael Frempong-Manso
Grade-7
Mrs Prodelh
JACK STALWART
During Quarter 2 I read a book called, Secret Agent Jack Stalwart The Escape of the Deadly Dinosaur it a series of this kind of book it a very remarkable book it gets more interesting and this book was written by Elizabeth Singer Hunt She has written a ton of books it pretty marvelous she has that much of books if you want to comprehend more about I am about right to it like some of the characters in this book are Jack dad, John, Mum Corinne Jack older brother, and jack himself the young in the family he is only Nine-year-old how jack became was his older brother was in danger so he signed up to be an agent to save his older brother and there is an individual character in this book that create the main problem in the entire book and his name is Thomas and this all occurs in Manhattan NY.The whole situation ends at the zoo and fun the dinosaur is thomas dog he used the dinosaur DNA from the bone to change his dog to change his dog into an allosaurus dinosaur and that all you need to know about this but keep reading this series.
THE END
Grade-7
Mrs Prodelh
JACK STALWART
During Quarter 2 I read a book called, Secret Agent Jack Stalwart The Escape of the Deadly Dinosaur it a series of this kind of book it a very remarkable book it gets more interesting and this book was written by Elizabeth Singer Hunt She has written a ton of books it pretty marvelous she has that much of books if you want to comprehend more about I am about right to it like some of the characters in this book are Jack dad, John, Mum Corinne Jack older brother, and jack himself the young in the family he is only Nine-year-old how jack became was his older brother was in danger so he signed up to be an agent to save his older brother and there is an individual character in this book that create the main problem in the entire book and his name is Thomas and this all occurs in Manhattan NY.The whole situation ends at the zoo and fun the dinosaur is thomas dog he used the dinosaur DNA from the bone to change his dog to change his dog into an allosaurus dinosaur and that all you need to know about this but keep reading this series.
THE END
July 28, 2022
In The Escape of the Deadly Dinosaur, Jack zooms to the city that never sleeps to try to solve the mystery of the missing Allosaurus toe. Starting at the Natural History Museum, Jack's detection takes him to a competitive grade-schooler determined to win the science fair with his experiment crossing his own dog with the DNA from the bone of a dangerous, carnivorous dinosaur. Soon the gargantuan creature is terrorizing New Yorkers and Jack must stop him before he devours the animals in the Central Park zoo!
October 3, 2018
This series is a fun read for under readers but some of the vocab is more geared for 4th grade. Jack is a secret agent that helps maintain balance in the world... oh and he is a kid. Jack heads off to NYC to help retrieve a stolen dinosaur bone. Little does he know that it is going to become more than he bargained for when he encounters a dinosaur.
Read aloud at 2nd grade, advanced readers will be fine as independent readers.
Read aloud at 2nd grade, advanced readers will be fine as independent readers.
March 14, 2024
Dumb on so many levels. DNF.
This whole premise of a 9 year old secret agent with incredible gadgets might work if it was written in a fun over the top manner. But it’s not. It’s written in a straightforward way that all the ridiculousness is just not acceptable. It’s like a silly movie trying to be taken seriously rather than being what it is meant to be.
This whole premise of a 9 year old secret agent with incredible gadgets might work if it was written in a fun over the top manner. But it’s not. It’s written in a straightforward way that all the ridiculousness is just not acceptable. It’s like a silly movie trying to be taken seriously rather than being what it is meant to be.
May 20, 2017
Jack Stalwart Adventure 1
Acute first chapter book for young readers. It is a series about Jack Stalwart Secret Agent. In this story Jack has to find a missing dinosaur bone. A great first reader.
Acute first chapter book for young readers. It is a series about Jack Stalwart Secret Agent. In this story Jack has to find a missing dinosaur bone. A great first reader.
February 1, 2020
While reading this book, all I could think is, "An eight-year-old boy would love this." As an adult, I had to suspend my disbelief quite a bit, but any fan of "Spy Kids" will probably enjoy this. I like how the author added an educational element by including facts about New York.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews