Review of Trygg the Dinosaur by Paula Louise Salvador illustrated by John Bindon

 

Welcome to the review tour for Trygg the Dinosaur, written by Paula Louise Salvador and illustrated by John Bindon. Today I am sharing my thoughts about the book with you as well as an excerpt. You can also read an author interview at my site Candrel's Crafts, Cooks, and Characters. Please follow the tour and leave your questions and comments along the way. Best of luck entering the giveaway!

Trygg and Alta are two young dinosaurs from opposite sides of the floodplain.

He's small in size and all alone in the world. He's looking for some meat to eat.

She's large and tall, and she hasn't seen her parents in days. She's looking for some plants to eat.

Could they really become friends?

This story takes place seventy-six million years ago, but good friendships can last forever.

Not that it is ever easy.

The hardest part is to stay loyal to each other in spite of what the rest of the herd thinks.

Read an excerpt:

On the other side of the lake, the surrounding cliff quivered. A chunk of dark grey earth slid off the slope and gushed through the water. Barely ahead of the mud, another Troödon was running, kicking water into the air. He jumped onto the sand just before the sludge buried the shore behind him. The animal lurched forward then pulled up short. He was huge, bigger than the whole nest.

The little Troödon stretched both arms out. “Take me with you!”

The big Troödon leaned over, but instead of lifting him up, he placed a long clawed finger on his small head and pushed him roughly down, right on top of the closest egg.

“Hey!” the little dinosaur sputtered from the mess of smashed shell and sticky yolk. “That’s no way to help a friend.”

The big Troödon fixed his fierce yellow eyes on him, quickly sizing him up. “I got no time for friends,” he yelled as he sprinted off the island. His deep voice carried back over the water.

“You’re on your own, runt.”

The little Troödon knew that he had to save himself. A mass of clay, stones and broken sticks was rising fast around him. He planted one foot in the base of his nest, then he hooked the strongest toe claw of his other foot into the rim. He pushed off and jumped out just before the mud surged over the edge and buried all the other eggs.

“Run!” he cried. “But where?”

PURCHASE LINKS

(affiliate links included)

AMAZON * KINDLE * BOOKSHOP * INDIGO CHAPTERS * BARNES & NOBLE * BOOK DEPOSITORY * RAKUTEN KOBO * SMASHWORDS * APPLE BOOKS

**My thoughts**

This story reminded me of a Land Before Time installment for older kids. You have these two young dinosaurs who have been orphaned soon after they hatch. Trygg is a meat-eater and Alta is a plant-eater. There's no way that they should be friends, and yet they strike up a friendship in spite of what their respective herds believe. And it's not easy to do so. You learn a lot about friendship and being kind.

I also learned some new dinosaurs! Even after 20 years of teaching, I'm still learning new dinosaurs. So that was fun for me. At the back of the book, you get some facts about the various ones represented in this story.

And the illustrations are just stunning. I have one friend who is able to draw like that and I am always blown away by them. It's a talent I'll never have! 

Chapters are nice and short which will keep children's interest. I think it could make for a good read aloud.

Thank you to the author and Goddess Fish for providing me with a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Paula Louise Salvador has had great adventures as a documentary film maker and writer. The scariest was when she stood under the ribs of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton – in the dark! The most fun was filming dinosaur dig-sites from a helicopter. On the dangerous side, she had to dodge alligators in Mississippi – and keep all fingers and toes out of the water.

Paula has met fascinating people, particularly jazz legend Oscar Peterson and composer Philip Glass, who performed in her show on electronic music.

In “BUILD GREEN” for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “THE NATURE OF THINGS”, Paula and Dr. David Suzuki visited rock star Randy Bachman’s super sustainable house. (He played his guitar for us.)

Finally, it was a tiny dinosaur that captured Paula’s heart. For her documentary “DINOSAUR BABIES The North American Story”, Paula held the fossilized egg of a little Troödon. He was curled up inside, just about to hatch. (His leg bones looked like a chicken’s.) That’s where Paula’s story of Trygg begins.

Paula has a Masters in French Literature from l’Université de Provence, France and a Bachelor of Arts (including Children’s Literature) from McGill University, Canada.

CONNECT WITH PAULA

WEBSITE: https://tryggthedinosaur.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/paulalouisesalvador/?hl=en

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-louise-salvador-44b92711/?originalSubdomain=ca

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/paula.salvador.31521

Paula Louise Salvador will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review of Kyle & Corey and the Game Store Mystery by Joe Stephens

 

It's a new middle grade/YA series for all of us to enjoy! And I did enjoy this one a lot. Read on for my full review and an excerpt from this fun mystery story. Let the author know your thoughts in the comments as you follow the tour. Best of luck in the giveaway!

Kyle & Corey Holley (15 and 12) live in Fairly Springs, a small southern beach town. Kyle is a budding engineer; Corey is impetuous, funny and sports-crazy. Like most brothers, they fight often, but they also solve crimes—like the rash of recent robberies around town. When Kyle and Corey investigate, they learn that in each robbery, the thieves stole a high-end desktop computer. Why? What are they looking for? And how soon till they find it? Other complications include Corey's wheelchair-bound math tutor, Kyle’s after-school job in a local game store and a revolutionary new video game launching soon.

Kyle and Corey: Brothers. Best Friends. Detectives. They don't go looking for trouble; it has them on speed dial!

Read an excerpt:

That night at dinner, sitting at their comfortable round oak dining table at home, Mrs. Holley said to Corey, “She thinks you’re a pathological liar.”

“He is a pathological liar,” Kyle said, helping himself to more mashed potatoes and pouring a generous helping of brown gravy over them.

Corey, sitting across the table from him, glared over his plate of sliced roast beef, steamed broccoli, and a smaller helping of mashed potatoes. “Liar is a strong word. I know the difference between truth and a lie, you turd.”

“Corey!” his mother said in warning.

“Well, I do. I only lied at the end a little, when I said the whole thing was a lie.”

“I know,” Mrs. Holley said. “Ms. Morrison hasn’t lived here long enough to know what happened this summer.”

“That’s why I did it. If she’d thought it was really true, she’d have asked all kinds of questions and probably made me write a whole other paper. She’s that type.”

Mrs. Holley looked affectionately at her younger son. Corey had a knack for picking out the essential personality traits in everyone he met, almost instantly. He knew things about people after a ten-minute conversation that took therapists months to root out.

Her husband Donald was proud of Kyle for his math and science abilities, his kind and forgiving nature, his loyalty to friends and his gift for taking raw materials and turning them into something new and unexpected. He was proud of Corey for his people smarts, his vivid personality, and his natural ability as an athlete. “I wouldn’t trade either of ‘em for a million bucks,” he told his wife often, and she always answered, “Wait till someone makes you an offer.”

Book Links

Goodreads * Amazon * BN

(affiliate link included)

**My thoughts**

It's been a while since I read a middle grade/YA mystery novel. Even though this is a lot more modern because it deals with gaming and technology, it did take me back to my childhood when I was reading Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. 

These two brothers apparently have a knack for solving mysteries that tend to stump the police and other adults. In fact, in this story, it's their second go-round. So I admit that I was looking for the first book in the series, though this is actually the first book. We get an overview of the first mystery that they solved and I would love to see that fleshed out in its own book some day. Maybe a prequel then? That's the one that sets up their reputation. And this mystery is the one that cements their status.

People are getting robbed in this normally sleep little town, and they all seem to be big ticket items like desktop gaming computers. There's also something fishy going on at the new gaming store that opened up in the past several months. And the brothers are determined to get to the bottom of both of these mysteries.

I admit I had a lot of it figured out pretty quickly, but there were a couple little twists thrown in that kept it entertaining. We also get a good look at the boys' normal lives, between the gaming and the sports and interactions at school, which helps them seem quite realistic and relatable. I felt like I went to school with them. 

They make a lot of new friends during this adventurous investigation, and I feel like these other people, including Matthew and the twins, are going to play bigger roles in future cases that may pop up.

Overall, it was quite an entertaining mystery read that I think older kids and teens are going to enjoy. I know I am looking forward to future installments!

Thank you to Goddess Fish and the author for providing me with a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About the author:

JOE STEPHENS has been a fan of boys’ adventure books all his life, and in this, his first series book, he’s created two boys as memorable as Frank and Joe Hardy. He has a background in education and has also visited more than thirty countries while pursuing his passion for scuba diving. He lives in Georgetown with his growing family and three thoroughly spoiled cats.

Joe Stephens will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review of Sophie Washington: Lemonade Day

 

Welcome to the book tour for Sophie Washington: Lemonade Day by Tonya Duncan Ellis! My followers know how much I love this series and I can't wait to share with you the latest installment! Check out an excerpt and my book review and then follow the tour for even more. Best of luck entering the giveaway!