Dinosaur rocks by Lachlan Creagh

cover image

Scholastic, 2012. ISBN 978 0 7344 1289 8.
(Age: 5+) Picture book. Dinosaurs. Arriving at his grandparents home which has no TV, no internet and so nothing to do, Tim is told by his grandfather to explore Dinosaur Rocks  a group of old rocks near the homestead. He sets out and is surprised to find a small chick which when he jumps, takes him back to prehistoric times. Here he meets an array of prehistoric Australian creatures and the book shows boldly how these names are spelt, encouraging the readers to sound them out for themselves.
Lots of adventures follow as Tim hitches a ride on his friend's back and roams the Australian landscape 65 million years ago and sees for himself the range of dinosaurs there were. When he wakes, he finds himself back with his grandparents, looking at the fossils and information grandfather has collected. The last page has the two looking at the poster which can be found inserted in the book as well as used as the end papers.
The boldly executed colourful drawings will remind readers of computer games and images seen in games for Xbox and the like, which is not a surprise as Creagh was once a producer of such imagery, used here to good effect.
Fran Knight

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