Escaping the Liopleurodon

Dinosaur Club #7

by Rex Stone

Travel through time to the world of the dinosaurs in this exciting prehistoric fiction series for children.

Jamie has just moved to Ammonite Bay, a stretch of coastline famous for its fossils. Jamie is a member of the Dinosaur Club - a network of kids around the world who love all things prehistoric. Jamie takes his tablet everywhere, just in case he needs to contact the Club.

Jamie is exploring Ammonite Bay when he meets Tess. Tess is a member of Dinosaur Club who lives in Ammonite Bay too. She shows Jamie around, including her favourite place - a secret cave with fossils all over the walls. But what's that strange tunnel at the back? They go through the tunnel and they discover some dinosaur footprints. Jamie and Tess walk along them...and the two new friends find themselves back in the time of the dinosaurs! It's amazing, but dangerous too - and they'll definitely need help from Dinosaur Club...

In this fun, action-packed adventure, Jamie and Tess head to the Jurassic to do a little prehistoric fishing - but they get more than they bargained for when they encounter an enormous plesiosaur - a Liopleurodon! (LIE-oh-PLOOR-oh-don)

96 pages, Paperback

Published May 4, 2023

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing the adventures with Jamie and Tess as they travel back to dinosaur times. It's a refreshing change to see the ocean setting here and I'm glad to see it. However, I found the story rather frustrating as it pits the "monster" liopleurodon against the cute-helpful dolphin-esqe ichthyosaurses. I'm never a fan when predators are made out like vicious beasts. Sure, you'd be scared if a liopleurodon was trying to eat you, and might not think too favorably of it, but there's a danger in making some creatures "bad." We've seen this sadly play out with living creatures in stories of "the big bad wolf" or the stigma attached to sharks after "Jaws" etc. Moreover, it's not as if the ichthyosaurses were peaceful vegetarians; they, too, were predators. The story picks favorites simply to create drama. I'm also a little puzzled at the story ascribing such intelligence to them, making them like dolphins, even helping the humans. I realize that recent discoveries* indicate that ichthyosaurses were warm-blooded, had blubber, and had a notable similarity to modern toothed whales, but that ichthyosaurses in this book help the humans and seem to even strategize seems a big jump to me. I think this should have been discussed in the back matter because simply calling them "marine reptiles" doesn't explain this fully. It's still an exciting adventure story and will likely appeal to kids who love dinosaurs and a bit of excitement.
*https://www.earth.com/news/ichthyosau...

[Wendie Barney Boucher · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loves dinosaurs so whenever we can find a book with dinosaurs he's super happy. This is the third book from this series we have read together and he really enjoys the stories. Jamie, Tess, and Wanna are fun characters to follow and read their stories. The author includes facts and other information about dinosaurs that he always enjoys reading.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was probably my favorite, mostly because the plot was actually different!

This is the last book I had from the library and I’m definitely not going to continue to get any more. The dinosaur nerd in me loved the idea behind this series so much, but the books themselves were just way too formulaic and repetitive.

[PottWab Regional Library]

A

[Sarah]

The Reading Promise - A, July 24

[Anna]

They’ve clearly stopped proofreading these books.

[Quincy Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun books for kids about dinosaurs and time travel!