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Jurassic Park: The Junior Novelisation
Essef - The dinosaur is back on Earth, alive, now, in this famous hair-raising novel. With colour photos from the film.
96 pages, Paperback
First published June 10, 1991
71 people are currently reading
427 people want to read
About the author
Gail Herman
228 books74 followersGail Herman, formerly a children's book editor in New York City, has written picture books, easy-to-reads, and chapter books, including many titles in the Who Was/What Was series. She lives in Newton, Massachusetts with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
October 13, 2018
I honestly just don't know my feelings about this book, I just don't know. It is a layout of the first movie. If you haven't seen the movie, it is about a guy who has found a way to bring dinosaurs back from the dead. Then a storm comes, and all the dinosaurs escape. I don't really like it because there is not enough action in this book.
July 17, 2025
I enjoy when novel adaptations add context or a new perceptive to a story I already know and love. That being said, I felt that this adaptation was very rushed. It is meant to be part of a book club kit and relies on your knowledge of the movie, with some moments missing important information. This problem could have been solved by making the book a little longer. The photos inside were also cool but without labels which may be confusing for children that have not seen the movie. I think that black and white photos accompanying each chapter would have been more successful although I understand they wanted to cash-in on the color photos from the movie. Since this is a junior novelization, I understand changing the death scenes, but some other scenes were changed that created plotholes. Such as the workers not leaving on the boat and the main cast later looking for survivors who we know are not there. Most of these changes were made in the scenes with Alan and the kids and may actually confuse children who saw the movie first. I also hated the inclusion of Lex crushing on Alan Grant. I did not think this was translated from the movie. The emphasis on romance between Alan and Sattler was also a miss. This is what deserved time on page? Overall a bare-minimum retelling that is not worthy of a book club kit.
December 27, 2019
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"Life always finds a way."
Jurassic Park: The Junior Novelisation is the written version of the original Jurassic Park movie (1995). Loosely based around the events of Jurassic Park, the novel by Michael Crichton, this novelisation has barely anything new to offer that the movie didn't. Personally, I'm always a big fan of novelisations but this one fell a little bland. Even if I ignore how extraordinarily simple the writing was, the story didn't feel as empowered as it did in the movie. For me, personally, the only reason why the book was exciting enough to get a 4 star rating was because while I was reading, I was easily able to picture the scenes from the movie. Having watched the original an umpteen number of times, it was brilliant and exciting to read it. Yet, I feel that is where the similarities ended. While the movie kept me on my toes all through the while, the book was barely able to give that feeling.
What I enjoyed about it was that it included some parts in it that even the movie didn't have. That certainly provided some convenience to the story. At the same time, the parts that were included in the book and the movie, for example, of all the deaths—those parts felt a little bland. The main reason why the deaths were so devastating was because of how they happened. Somehow, I don't think Herman was able to bring out that feeling. Even for a kid, it didn't seem nice enough. I would rather recommend my kid sister to read the original (and the original being over 400 pages, it is next to impossible) than this one.
"Life always finds a way."
Jurassic Park: The Junior Novelisation is the written version of the original Jurassic Park movie (1995). Loosely based around the events of Jurassic Park, the novel by Michael Crichton, this novelisation has barely anything new to offer that the movie didn't. Personally, I'm always a big fan of novelisations but this one fell a little bland. Even if I ignore how extraordinarily simple the writing was, the story didn't feel as empowered as it did in the movie. For me, personally, the only reason why the book was exciting enough to get a 4 star rating was because while I was reading, I was easily able to picture the scenes from the movie. Having watched the original an umpteen number of times, it was brilliant and exciting to read it. Yet, I feel that is where the similarities ended. While the movie kept me on my toes all through the while, the book was barely able to give that feeling.
What I enjoyed about it was that it included some parts in it that even the movie didn't have. That certainly provided some convenience to the story. At the same time, the parts that were included in the book and the movie, for example, of all the deaths—those parts felt a little bland. The main reason why the deaths were so devastating was because of how they happened. Somehow, I don't think Herman was able to bring out that feeling. Even for a kid, it didn't seem nice enough. I would rather recommend my kid sister to read the original (and the original being over 400 pages, it is next to impossible) than this one.
October 5, 2020
It was really good. I didn’t actually know that it was a junior novelization until just now when I saw it on Goodrads.
I liked that there were parts in the book that I don’t remember being in the actual movie. And vice versa, I don’t remember there some parts in the book that were in the movie.
I didn’t like the book a lot because things that I may have missed being blind from the movie, I got really good descriptions of everything in this book!
And, the book wasn’t super long, in braille, it was only 101 pages.
I liked that there were parts in the book that I don’t remember being in the actual movie. And vice versa, I don’t remember there some parts in the book that were in the movie.
I didn’t like the book a lot because things that I may have missed being blind from the movie, I got really good descriptions of everything in this book!
And, the book wasn’t super long, in braille, it was only 101 pages.
February 12, 2026
This is the child's version of Jurassic Park, something I failed to notice when I checked it out of the library. During my reading, all I could think about how simplistic and terrible it was, and the rushed plot, and the spoonfeeding of characterization that occurs, and that there was just no way that this was the book the movie was based on. However, it was completely my error, and it is probably a good book for children. I would have given it 2 stars if it was the original Jurassic Park, but I should not be uncharitable.
September 6, 2021
When reading this book I just wanted it to end. I recommend skipping this book and going straight to the junior novelization of Jurassic World. It is much better in my opinion.
November 12, 2023
My favorite book from one of my favorite authors. Crichton pretty much coined the term "techno thriller" and Jurassic park is the prefect example of this kind of book!
Everyone has seen the movie, and I'm here to tell you the book is every bit as good, if not better. The novel has more of a horror feel to it and just felt more suspenseful and creepy than the movies did. Everything about this book is perfect in every way and I will never stop recommending it to everyone who likes Michael Crichton, sci-fi thrillers, or anything to do with dinosaurs!
Easily a 5 star read, and my favorite Michael Crichton novel to date:)
Everyone has seen the movie, and I'm here to tell you the book is every bit as good, if not better. The novel has more of a horror feel to it and just felt more suspenseful and creepy than the movies did. Everything about this book is perfect in every way and I will never stop recommending it to everyone who likes Michael Crichton, sci-fi thrillers, or anything to do with dinosaurs!
Easily a 5 star read, and my favorite Michael Crichton novel to date:)
December 30, 2025
Accidentally read the kids version 😐
May 14, 2025
I remember reading this when I was still living in Stockton, so probably somewhere in that window around when the movie came out in 1993 in the months before we moved to Lodi. At the time, I wasn't allowed to watch the movie or read the Crichton novel (my first Crichton novel would be probably around 94-96 with Sphere), so getting my hands on the junior novelization was the next best thing. I had a few of the toys, but I think other than this book, my most prized JP possession was probably the Topps Jurassic Park Official Souvenir Magazine (I also had some of the Topps comics -- I think my dad bought a few to open and a few to keep sealed which...I doubt have ever appreciated much in value since the art in them was uniformly terrible).
I cracked this open to read with Enzo and it definitely feels a bit too mature for an advanced 4yo. It definitely pulls back on the violence of the four prominent character deaths, but three of them are still depicted enough that I skirted them quickly in my reading. It follows most of the major plot beats of the movie, adding in a few weird elements -- explaining away the sick triceratops with the gizzard stones that get a later mention when Alan discovers the eggs and realizes the dinosaurs are in fact undergoing environmentally-stimulated sex changes. The other are some longer exchanges that Alan has with Lex and Tim, namely one moment where he starts waxing to himself, aloud, about how likely they are to be attacked again by the T-Rex, driving the kids back into the safety of the drainpipe within the T-Rex paddock. I'm curious how many of these elements came from the novel or were from original script ideas that didn't make it into the film (I think the gizzard stones might have been both, but I don't recall this particular exchange with Alan and the kids in the books).
There are also some choice line replacements -- Ian still gets most of his important ones, but a lot of the comedy is bled out of this translation. Alan seems to really hate kids. Arnold can't mention butts, or the holding of them. Maybe most prominently missing are "stick! stick, stupid!" and "clever girl..." Also an odd assortment of pictures in the not-quite middle of this edition -- unlisted characters (but not all of them, sorry Sam Jackson!), nothing of the dilophosaurus, and two images of the raptors that are very poorly lit.
I'm glad these things exist, but outside of a fairly narrow age range, I'm just not sure who would read these.
I cracked this open to read with Enzo and it definitely feels a bit too mature for an advanced 4yo. It definitely pulls back on the violence of the four prominent character deaths, but three of them are still depicted enough that I skirted them quickly in my reading. It follows most of the major plot beats of the movie, adding in a few weird elements -- explaining away the sick triceratops with the gizzard stones that get a later mention when Alan discovers the eggs and realizes the dinosaurs are in fact undergoing environmentally-stimulated sex changes. The other are some longer exchanges that Alan has with Lex and Tim, namely one moment where he starts waxing to himself, aloud, about how likely they are to be attacked again by the T-Rex, driving the kids back into the safety of the drainpipe within the T-Rex paddock. I'm curious how many of these elements came from the novel or were from original script ideas that didn't make it into the film (I think the gizzard stones might have been both, but I don't recall this particular exchange with Alan and the kids in the books).
There are also some choice line replacements -- Ian still gets most of his important ones, but a lot of the comedy is bled out of this translation. Alan seems to really hate kids. Arnold can't mention butts, or the holding of them. Maybe most prominently missing are "stick! stick, stupid!" and "clever girl..." Also an odd assortment of pictures in the not-quite middle of this edition -- unlisted characters (but not all of them, sorry Sam Jackson!), nothing of the dilophosaurus, and two images of the raptors that are very poorly lit.
I'm glad these things exist, but outside of a fairly narrow age range, I'm just not sure who would read these.
March 26, 2021
🦖 BUENAS TARDES PLUMILES🦖
¿Cómo lleváis el inicio de semana y el inicio de este mes de marzo?
Nosotros hoy por fin hemos podido sacar a Gaia a dar su primer paseo y se lo ha pasado pipa jugando con otros perros.
🦕
En la reseña de hoy vamos a hablar de jurassic park imagino que la mayoría conozcáis las películas pero he de deciros que antes estaban los libros.
🦕
El libro empieza en el parque Jurásico cuando liberar a los animales y pasa una catástrofe ,pero aún así su propietario el señor Hammon sigue invirtiendo dinero en excavaciones y en los laboratorios para seguir creando dinosaurios.
Para que la aseguradora le dé permiso para abrir el parque Jurásico necesita qué un doctor y dos paleontólogos verifiquen que su parque es seguro para así abrirlo al público.
En esta aventura también se unen los nietos de señor Hammon qué junto con el doctor y los dos arqueólogos se disponen hacer una ruta en coches eléctricos por el parque Jurásico cuando todo empieza a ir mal....
🦕
Os tengo que decir que soy una loca de los dinosaurios porque me parecen muy monos y muy incomprendidos.
Es un libro muy cortito ,con capítulos súper cortos que se lee en un día y se hace muy ameno la verdad.
Yo la recomiendo más para adolescentes por estos motivos anteriormente dichos pero si os gustan los dinosaurios podéis darle una oportunidad.
Yo le voy a dar 3,5 de 5🐾 porque ya me sabía la historia y es muy parecido a lo que viene en la película
¿Cómo lleváis el inicio de semana y el inicio de este mes de marzo?
Nosotros hoy por fin hemos podido sacar a Gaia a dar su primer paseo y se lo ha pasado pipa jugando con otros perros.
🦕
En la reseña de hoy vamos a hablar de jurassic park imagino que la mayoría conozcáis las películas pero he de deciros que antes estaban los libros.
🦕
El libro empieza en el parque Jurásico cuando liberar a los animales y pasa una catástrofe ,pero aún así su propietario el señor Hammon sigue invirtiendo dinero en excavaciones y en los laboratorios para seguir creando dinosaurios.
Para que la aseguradora le dé permiso para abrir el parque Jurásico necesita qué un doctor y dos paleontólogos verifiquen que su parque es seguro para así abrirlo al público.
En esta aventura también se unen los nietos de señor Hammon qué junto con el doctor y los dos arqueólogos se disponen hacer una ruta en coches eléctricos por el parque Jurásico cuando todo empieza a ir mal....
🦕
Os tengo que decir que soy una loca de los dinosaurios porque me parecen muy monos y muy incomprendidos.
Es un libro muy cortito ,con capítulos súper cortos que se lee en un día y se hace muy ameno la verdad.
Yo la recomiendo más para adolescentes por estos motivos anteriormente dichos pero si os gustan los dinosaurios podéis darle una oportunidad.
Yo le voy a dar 3,5 de 5🐾 porque ya me sabía la historia y es muy parecido a lo que viene en la película
August 26, 2018
Jurassic Park: the Junior Novelization by Gail Herman is the perfect balance of summarized script and prose. While certain details are not 100% like the completed film, this can be attributed likely to having done the novel from the earlier scripts and to prevent spoiling overmuch of the film.
This book gives some better insight into why Alan Grant said and did certain things, providing context that a large part of the film audience seemingly ignores. It makes perfect sense for Alan to question what species he was holding, because he asks in a 'please, tell me you did not' manner.
This book is great for collectors of the film!verse or just for young readers. It does a great at not 'talking down' to the reader. I would definitely re-read this again in the future. For now, on the bookshelf it goes.
This book gives some better insight into why Alan Grant said and did certain things, providing context that a large part of the film audience seemingly ignores. It makes perfect sense for Alan to question what species he was holding, because he asks in a 'please, tell me you did not' manner.
This book is great for collectors of the film!verse or just for young readers. It does a great at not 'talking down' to the reader. I would definitely re-read this again in the future. For now, on the bookshelf it goes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2025
Buku tipis, cerita to the point, bahasa mudah dipahami; jadi cocok untuk pembaca yang ingin cerita ringan.
Kejadian-kejadian penting yang ada di film sudah ada di sini.
Agak lega karena kalimat ikonis Lex—tapi menyebabkan secondhand embarrassment—enggak ada di sini.
Aku menyayangkan peran Ian bahkan lebih kurang menonjol di sini, kuharap seenggaknya dia pas mengambil alih untuk memberikan petunjuk lebih dijelaskan daripada ini.
Agak kaget karena Lex "mengagumi" Alan sampai sebegitunya. Relatable sih. Berhubung ini cerita anak, jadi... ya...
Filmnya membuatku agak mengantuk pas bagian perkenalan dunianya. Tapi, novel ini membuatku lebih bisa menikmati bagian itu.
Kejadian-kejadian penting yang ada di film sudah ada di sini.
Agak lega karena kalimat ikonis Lex—tapi menyebabkan secondhand embarrassment—enggak ada di sini.
Aku menyayangkan peran Ian bahkan lebih kurang menonjol di sini, kuharap seenggaknya dia pas mengambil alih untuk memberikan petunjuk lebih dijelaskan daripada ini.
Agak kaget karena Lex "mengagumi" Alan sampai sebegitunya. Relatable sih. Berhubung ini cerita anak, jadi... ya...
Filmnya membuatku agak mengantuk pas bagian perkenalan dunianya. Tapi, novel ini membuatku lebih bisa menikmati bagian itu.
July 18, 2023
"Jurassic Park" is my favourite movie, and while I probably will never end up reading the original book because it isn't my genre, I picked up the junior novelisation of it. All I can say is that this is the worst junior movie novelisation I have ever read. This book could have been written so much better. The descriptions weren't great, and even though I know the death scenes have to be toned down, I feel they could have been written a bit better. Also, everything was fast pace and sometimes I had no idea what was going on.
December 15, 2021
Great book I love everything to do with jurassic park whether its games,films or the books and the junior novalisation makes it so much easier to expieriance the story of jurassic park and I love it!
If you read this book I would strongly recommend reading the other books such as Jurassic park 2:the lost world,Jurassic park 3,Jurassic world and Jurassic world:fallen kingdom.It is quite a short read and only took me about a week but even though it is short it is a very good book.
If you read this book I would strongly recommend reading the other books such as Jurassic park 2:the lost world,Jurassic park 3,Jurassic world and Jurassic world:fallen kingdom.It is quite a short read and only took me about a week but even though it is short it is a very good book.
September 1, 2023
He leído la versión castellana, no la portuguesa, pero entiendo que lo mismo da. Es una adaptación excesivamente resumida, de la película. Las escenas no difieren apenas de la adaptación cinematográfica y con un lenguaje quizá demasiado sencillo incluso para su público objetivo a quienes les recomendaría mejor la versión no adaptada o literatura juvenil más interesante.
July 20, 2019
As someone who loved the film, this book was just okay, it wasn't as good as the movie, however it did include some parts that weren't in the film
As it is wrote for kids, it definitely has a more simplistic writing style
As it is wrote for kids, it definitely has a more simplistic writing style
November 28, 2023
I really loved this book, it was awesome pretty cool
I thought they would never get out but they did get out
My favorite part was the T - Rex part and they thought they would die but they didn’t
So thank you so much 🎭 🦖 🥰 🤩
I thought they would never get out but they did get out
My favorite part was the T - Rex part and they thought they would die but they didn’t
So thank you so much 🎭 🦖 🥰 🤩
January 10, 2024
It was good. Keeps you on your seat.
This is just me personally, but even with this being a Junior Novelization, it was still pretty hard to process the deaths of characters by dinosaurs.
Maybe I'm overly sensitive, but just something to keep in mind for young readers.
This is just me personally, but even with this being a Junior Novelization, it was still pretty hard to process the deaths of characters by dinosaurs.
Maybe I'm overly sensitive, but just something to keep in mind for young readers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2026
si creciste viendo las películas pues... entra al mundo del horror del libro. Realmente te tiene todo el tiempo en vilo, con suspenso.
Las descripciones de como los.dinos se devoran a los humanos...
Ver como Hammond termina muriendo en manos de una de sus creaciones... es épica.
Las descripciones de como los.dinos se devoran a los humanos...
Ver como Hammond termina muriendo en manos de una de sus creaciones... es épica.
March 29, 2018
no Ian Malcolm's "that is one big pile of shit." line? not legit
April 5, 2018
I read this before watching the movie. My only memory is that I thought the raptors were the size of chickens.
December 26, 2019
I love the source material but didn’t like how they assumed Lex would have a crush on Grant.
June 5, 2021
Does not have “clever girl” or “hold onto your butts” which I personally would think kids would love
does have “‘Owwwww!’ howled the raptor” after the t-rex bites the raptor so that’s great
does have “‘Owwwww!’ howled the raptor” after the t-rex bites the raptor so that’s great
Read
January 12, 2022Discussed on the pod!
https://anchor.fm/authorizedpod/episo...
https://anchor.fm/authorizedpod/episo...
August 27, 2022
A five-star due to the deeply personal connection I have with the book.
October 4, 2022
Me lleve una grata sorpresa, me transporte a la peli, pero se me hizo muy corto, espero poder leer más del autor muy pronto.
lucas
February 1, 2023My 6 year old absolutely loved this version. He didn't get lost in the details an adult can handle. It was perfect for his attention span. We bought the rest of the series!
April 22, 2023
Přepis mého milovaného Jurského parku z filmu. Něco se mi líbilo, něco ne. Některé postavy tu přežily, některé ne. Ale já knihu přežila. ;D
December 2, 2023
It must be exciting if it was a movie. But I don't like stereo type of Hurrywood.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews