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