Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time – James Gurney

“Nearly a year has gone by since I first made the discovery. It was purely by chance. I was tracking down some information about the spice trade in China when my eye fell upon a curious old leather-bound sketchbook. The University library has hundreds of original manuscripts like it. They have all been catalogued, but few have been studied in detail.
At first it seemed to be just another sketchbook diary of a forgotten explorer. All the names were unfamiliar to me:
DINOTOPIA, by Arthur and Willian Denison,
Being the Account of our Adventures and Dis-
coveries on a Lost Island.” (Page 9)

Title: Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time
Written by: James Gurney
Genre: Adventure, Sci – fi, Fantasy
Publisher: Turner Publishing, INC.
Publication Date: 1992
Paperback: 159 pages

Jurassic Park meets nineteenth century herbivores.

To be brutally honest you’re not going to read this book for the plot.

The plot’s more of a me-wandering (yes, I combined meander and wandering) across the island and tasting a bit of all the various Dinotopian cultures than anything adventurey or well, exciting.

The story is told in journal form so there is no threat of Arthur (or later his son, Will) dying. (Although, granted, this not true of all books written in journal form.) They bounce from Dinotopian region to Dinotopian region and eventually return to the capital: Waterfall City.

What will draw you to this book are the pictures.

Oh

My

Word

The pictures in this book are amazing, phenomenal, and incredible.

They are gorgeous, detailed, and each time you look at them you see something new.

As much as I love the idea of a (non-murderous) dinosaur island, the pictures in the Dinotopia series are the real reason I reread these books.

I highly recommend this book for readers of all ages who love beautiful art (hey, even adults can enjoy pictures), or for those who want a peaceful Jurassic Park.

For More Information about the Book and Author Click: HERE

Age Range: 6 and up

Cautions –

Violence: A shipwreck. Bix is hit in the leg with a rock. Arthur and Will are surrounded by angry dinosaurs.

Sensuality: Will holds Silvia when she is scared and the two huddle together to keep warm. Will thinks about marrying Silvia.

Profanity: none.

Other: Will and other boys scare some girls by pretending to be Tyrannosaurus-rexes. A drawing depicts the inside of a dinosaur egg. Description of dinosaur um…bathroom habits. Evolution is mentioned many times.

Personal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Cleanness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars