Dinotopia: Hatchling
(The Dinotopia series)
Midori Snyder
Bullseye
Fiction, YA Fantasy
****
DESCRIPTION: In the land of Dinotopia, the lives of the dinosaurs and humans are deeply intertwined. This bond is most pronounced at the Hatcheries, where dinosaurs journey to lay the few fertile eggs they bear in their long lives. Young Janet Morgan was born under the Romano Hatchery roof and dreams of a life among the eggs and hatchlings, as her ancestors have lived for generations. During her first night on duty in the egg chamber as apprentice to the great master hatcher Fatherfast, her negligence results in a possibly life-threatening situation for one of her most delicate charges. Ashamed and confused, Janet runs away from the Hatchery, so that she may never endanger another egg again. Fate has other plans for the young human, and Janet soon finds herself on a dangerous journey for the sake of a stranger and her egg.
REVIEW: This was a great story, fitting in with James Gurney's world beautifully. The characters are nice and intelligent, and the story moves swiftly, tying itself up nicely. It's the sort of fun book you find yourself paging through more than once.
You might also enjoy:
Green Rider (Kristen Britain, Fiction - Expelled unfairly from school, a young woman's destiny changes when she finds a dying messenger bearing important news to the king)
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - A boy buys a dragon's egg in a magic shop)
Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton, Fiction - A tycoon's experimental theme park resurrects prehistoric animals with modern science)
Hatching Magic (Ann Downer, YA Fiction - A modern Boston girl finds a medieval wizard's escaped wyvern and her hatchling)
The Lost World (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Fiction - A professor leads an expedition to a remote South American plateau, where prehistoric animals still roam)
James Gurney's Dinotopia books (James Gurney, YA Fiction - Enchantingly illustrated stories of the land of Dinotopia)
Dinosaurs (Carl Mehling, editor, Nonfiction - Dinosaurs and many other prehistoric life forms)
Thunder Lizards!: How to Draw Fantastic Dinosaurs (Steve Miller, YA? Art - Drawing dinosaurs and relations)
His Majesty's Dragon (Naomi Novik, Fiction - A British naval captain's life forever changes when he finds a hatching dragon's egg aboard a French vessel captured in battle)
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs (Dr. David Norman, Nonfiction - Discovering the world of the dinosaurs)
Dinosaurs Before Dark (Mary Pope Osborne, YA Fiction - A magical tree house whisks two children into the dinosaur age)
Eragon (Christopher Paolini, Fiction - A farm boy finds a dragon's egg)
Pterosaurs: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Flying Reptiles (Dr. Peter Wellenhoffer, Nonfiction - A compendium of pterosaurs)
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