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Jonathan Park and the Secret of the Hidden Cave
A quick search for shelter in a cave during a violent rainstorm plunges Jonathan Park and his friend Jessie into an adventure of gigantic proportions. This action-packed story for pre-teens combines an exciting story with truths of scripture, such as Noah's flood, while serving as a teaching format by explaining fossils in a biblical context.
Crafted by the gifted writing team of Sandy and Pat Roy, developers of radio shows for the Institute for Creation Research, this adventure story focuses on the search for a valuable dinosaur skull, a mysterious disappearance, and a villain who chases the youthful detective team of Jonathan and Jessie. Illustrated with eye-popping paintings of caves, this promises to be high action!
Crafted by the gifted writing team of Sandy and Pat Roy, developers of radio shows for the Institute for Creation Research, this adventure story focuses on the search for a valuable dinosaur skull, a mysterious disappearance, and a villain who chases the youthful detective team of Jonathan and Jessie. Illustrated with eye-popping paintings of caves, this promises to be high action!
- GenresChildrens
110 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 14, 2020
It has been a very long time since I read this, so this isn't much of a review. I'm just so shocked that I read this! Why would I be shocked? Well, it's just pretty corny. It wasn't that much different from the radio program, if I remember correctly, so I'm not sure why I wanted the book if I already had access to the story on the radio.
I can tell you that this is a story of the son of a paleontologist. The paleontologist is the guy whose expertise is in fossils, I believe. The story is meant to be educational feeding the reader scientific data about fossils from a young earth creationist perspective while also just being the story of an average kid who has to confront some weird Disney-like villains. I remember getting and retaining one thing from this story, namely, the words stalagmite and stalactite.
I can tell you that this is a story of the son of a paleontologist. The paleontologist is the guy whose expertise is in fossils, I believe. The story is meant to be educational feeding the reader scientific data about fossils from a young earth creationist perspective while also just being the story of an average kid who has to confront some weird Disney-like villains. I remember getting and retaining one thing from this story, namely, the words stalagmite and stalactite.
August 2, 2022
These stories are always a hit on family travels
September 22, 2010
--Description--
When two families are forced to shelter in a hidden cave during a violent rainstorm, ten-year-old Jonathan Park meets tom-boy Jessie. The excessive rain is flooding the river to the point it's going to destroy Jessie's family's farm. The kids are excited to find fossils in the cave. Maybe they can sell the fossils to help pay the mortgage on the farm!
But some scam men are determined to buy the farm cheap and sell high. When they catch wind of the kid's plan, they follow them to the cave and shut off the lights with them trapped inside. How will the kids find their way out of the dangerous cave and past the waiting men? And are the fossils even valuable? Read and find out!
--My Review--
"Jonathan Park & the Secret of the Hidden Cave" is a middle grade adventure story for boys and girls. It's an exciting story about a boy who finds unexpected friendship (and adventure) after some of his old friends rejected him because of his new, Christian beliefs. After the exciting introduction, the pacing slowed a little as backstory information was filled in while the kids explored the cave. Then the tension jump back into high gear. The suspense was mainly from the threat of physical danger due to the flooding and the bad guys.
The characters were engaging, and the descriptions were vivid. Since much of the story occurred in a cave with a scientist parent present, there was some discussion about how long it takes for cave formations to form (like over a bat fossil they find) and how fossils are formed. They even talk about how dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible (though obviously not using that exact term). This information was woven into the adventure and didn't slow the story.
This was a Christian story. The characters do pray for safety, comment that God's in control, and believe that God created the universe as described in the Bible.
There were some nice black and white illustrations. There was no bad language or sex. Overall, I'd highly recommend this enjoyable novel as well-written, clean reading.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.
When two families are forced to shelter in a hidden cave during a violent rainstorm, ten-year-old Jonathan Park meets tom-boy Jessie. The excessive rain is flooding the river to the point it's going to destroy Jessie's family's farm. The kids are excited to find fossils in the cave. Maybe they can sell the fossils to help pay the mortgage on the farm!
But some scam men are determined to buy the farm cheap and sell high. When they catch wind of the kid's plan, they follow them to the cave and shut off the lights with them trapped inside. How will the kids find their way out of the dangerous cave and past the waiting men? And are the fossils even valuable? Read and find out!
--My Review--
"Jonathan Park & the Secret of the Hidden Cave" is a middle grade adventure story for boys and girls. It's an exciting story about a boy who finds unexpected friendship (and adventure) after some of his old friends rejected him because of his new, Christian beliefs. After the exciting introduction, the pacing slowed a little as backstory information was filled in while the kids explored the cave. Then the tension jump back into high gear. The suspense was mainly from the threat of physical danger due to the flooding and the bad guys.
The characters were engaging, and the descriptions were vivid. Since much of the story occurred in a cave with a scientist parent present, there was some discussion about how long it takes for cave formations to form (like over a bat fossil they find) and how fossils are formed. They even talk about how dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible (though obviously not using that exact term). This information was woven into the adventure and didn't slow the story.
This was a Christian story. The characters do pray for safety, comment that God's in control, and believe that God created the universe as described in the Bible.
There were some nice black and white illustrations. There was no bad language or sex. Overall, I'd highly recommend this enjoyable novel as well-written, clean reading.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.
October 3, 2010
Read this when I was about 12. Good for children apologetics but pretty imature material for someone like me to fess up to reading.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews