Dinosaur Dreams: A Father and Daughter in Search of America’s Prehistoric Past

by B.J. Hollars

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

256 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2025

About the author

B.J. Hollars is the author of several books, most recently Wisconsin for Kennedy: The Primary That Launched a President and Changed The Course of History, Year of Plenty: A Family's Season of Grief, Go West Young Man: A Father and Son Rediscover America on the Oregon Trail, Midwestern Strange: Hunting Monsters, Martians and the Weird in Flyover Country, The Road South: Personal Stories of the Freedom Riders, Flock Together: A Love Affair With Extinct Birds, From the Mouths of Dogs: What Our Pets Teach Us About Life, Death, and Being Human, as well as a collection of essays, This Is Only A Test. Additionally, he has also written Thirteen Loops: Race, Violence and the Last Lynching in America, Opening the Doors: The Desegregation of the University of Alabama and the Fight for Civil Rights in Tuscaloosa, Dispatches from the Drownings, and Sightings. He and his film partner, Steve Dayton, have also completed a documentary When Rubber Hit The Road,

Hollars is the recipient of the Truman Capote Prize for Literary Nonfiction, the Anne B. and James B. McMillan Prize, the Council of Wisconsin Writers' Blei-Derleth Award, the Society of Midland Authors Award, and received a 2022 silver medal from the Midwest Book Awards.

He is the founder and executive director of the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild and the Midwest Artist Academy, as well as a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and a columnist for The Leader-Telegram. He lives a simple existence with his family.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. I LOVE dinosaurs so of course I had to read this book about a father and daughter trip to the Montana Dinosaur Trail. First of all, how have I never heard of this place before when my teen and I both love dinosaurs? This definitely made me want to visit the Montana Dinosaur Trail although not in a tent. I'm definitely putting this adventure on my Bucket List and you should put this book on your TBR if you have any interest in dinosaurs and learning more about the early days of dinosaur fossil hunting.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A father and daughter embark on a two-week trip from Wisconsin to Montana in order to stop at all of the places along the Montana Dinosaur Trail. Along the way they encounter storms, a dinosaur dig, a religious museum that includes dinosaurs, and so much more. The author gives background information about the history of dinosaur hunting. Although this is focused on exploring the Montana Dinosaur Trail, it also explores family, friends, growing up, road trips, and so much more.

This book is so delightful that I took to social media even before I'd finished it to tout it. It pays homage to my treasured home state, as well as to my childhood passions (dinosaurs, digs, etc.). The author visited places I adore, marveled at the beauty of Montana, and lived out some of my dreams. I laughed out loud, delighted in their discoveries, and shared in the fun and laughter. It brought me immense joy and sparked fond memories of visiting Fort Peck with my grandparents, visiting Museum of the Rockies with friends and students, marveling at Makoshika, stopping at the rock shop in Bynam, and so much more.

This book feels like a love letter to my beloved home state, dinosaurs, small towns, community, connections, and family.

Verdict: My favorite book this season, and one of my favorites for this year. It's one my Christmas wishlist, as I want my own copy to re-read and savor and share with loved ones.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this delightful book!

[Soscha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story about a Dinosaur expedition you’ll want to join. Father and daughter, friends, dinos.

Many dinos. All the best dinos. 🦖🦕

[Mihiret · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea of this book is really fun--a two week journey through Montana's Dinosaur Trail, a dad and a daughter and dinosaur bones, and the book delivers on that. There is indeed actual dinosaur discoveries, as well as museum explorations and historical information on some of those who have been searching for dinosaurs in the past. I enjoyed meeting all the personalities along the trail (some of the historical dinosaur hunters were quite colorful, and the current curators are too), but felt like the different elements of the book weren't completely integrated together.

Thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my free earc in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are all my own.

[Randal White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely, touching book of a father-daughter bonding experience. The author takes his nine year old daughter on a two week tour of the Montana Dinosaur Trail. It was heart warming to me to read along as each person discovers things about the other, about other people (some of the people they meet are fascinating), and about dinosaurs. Lots of dinosaurs! I actually learned quite a bit in the book. But most of all, it left me with a really great feeling to see the author connecting with his daughter. I'm sure she will never forget it!

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dinosaur Dreams: A Father and Daughter in Search of America’s Prehistoric Past by B.J. Hollar’s is a warmly intimate recap of a two-week journey he took with his nine-year-old daughter Ellie to complete the entire 2000-mile Dinosaur Trail in Montana. While I would have liked a bit more depth, moments where he followed lines of thoughts further, and some more expansive musing, it makes for a lovely read. And my own experiences traveling pretty much everywhere the two go, mostly with my own young son, means I can attest to the accuracy of his descriptions of places and also allowed the book to bring up a number of fond memories.

While one gets of course some information on dinosaurs — their extinction, the various species, milestone discoveries and changing viewpoints — the focus here is much more on the humans in the story. Whether that be well known figures in paleontology, such as Edward Drinker Cope and Charles Marsh (opponents in the famous “Bone Wars” of the 19th century); more recent scientists like Robert Bakker (pushed idea that dinosaurs were warm-blooded early on) and Jack Horner (argued some dinosaurs cared for their young); amateur paleontologists like Tom Hebert (also a former student of Hollar’s); curators of small museums in small towns like Sean Doyle (Choteau), Samantha Friench (Chinook), Lila Redding (Rudyard); and people Hollar and his daughter simply ran into at campgrounds, such as James Kelly (a motorcyclist) and Diane Stinger (musician).

What I appreciated was how Hollar presented all these people and their work on a human level rather than as information to be related or mined. The way he makes clear that the Dinosaur Trail, besides being a fantastic trip for tourists (and it absolutely is btw), is also a monetary lifeline to small towns that have seen their populations plummet over time, children leaving, services declining. Or the way he discusses his time spent at a creationist museum (one I and my son also visited) discussing the alternate view of extinction, evolution, and earth history with its curator not with a sense of mockery but with respect and generosity, and how while he notes “I could fill an ark with all the differences between Robert and me,” he also points out that “I could fill a second ark with everything we’ve got in common.” It was also nice to read a book that brings in the lesser known figures who contribute to our understanding of dinosaurs and the past: the volunteers, the museum works and curators, the amateurs who picked up a stray bone and showed it to a professional.

Always at the center though, is the relationship between Ellie and Hollar, which is wholly relatable. And anyone who has ever had kids will recognize moments like this one, as Hollar watches his daughter at a river’s edge:

Something like wonder crosses Ellie’s face as she wades into its ankle-deep water. I feel it too. We’re sharing a piece of the world that we have found together … Then — as the last of the light fades beneath the million-year-old Rimrocks —a change occurs. Just like that, the kid is gone, and a preteen Ellie appears in her place. I am stunned by this transformation, which has undoubtedly been occurring for weeks but is only now catching up with me now. Why is it that evolutionary change can take millions of years within species but happens in a heartbeat when it’s your daughter? … “Ready?” she asks. Never, I think.


As much as I enjoyed reading Dinosaur Dreams, I found myself wishing for my lines similar to those above. More of the author musing on his daughter’s maturation, the inevitable widening between (even if only geographically) as she grows older. More as well on what gets briefly touched upon in the book: the impact of climate change, our deleterious effect on the environment. Because what’s here is so well done, I like to think going somewhat further and farther would have made a good book a great one. Still, an easy recommendation