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Chicken House Ltd Chicken House Mission Microraptor.
Two boys and a microraptor. A dark, mysterious forest. And a squad of army-trained mercenaries searching for them. What could possibly go wrong? Falling behind their classmates on a school trip to the Alps, Finn and Milo stumble upon an egg buried in ice.
Later that night it hatches and a 65-million-year-old baby is Arty is a microraptor brought back from extinction.
But keeping her safe proves harder. Wicked scientists will do anything to get their hands on her, and soon Finn and Milo must run for their lives …
The first in an thrilling new series of all-action environmental adventures – with added dinosaurs! A super-cool debut voice in middle-grade; think Jurassic Park meets Wimpy Kid with a dash of Alex Rider Packed full of humour, action and adventure – with survival skills and a dinosaur friend called Arty! Features brilliantly charming illustrations from Euan Cook throughout
PRAISE FOR MICRORAPTOR:
'. . . brace yourselves for a bright new comedy voice. . . When Finn and Milo accidentally unearth a dinosaur on a school trip, an epic adventure ensues. Fast, funny and fabulous.’ MAZ EVANS, AUTHOR OF WHO LET THE GODS OUT?
- GenresAdventure
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 24, 2024
Brilliant book. Action all the way. Can't wait for book 2. Recommended.
May 18, 2024
Finn O'Rourke is much happier on a screen with a packet of chips at his side than being in the outdoors. So a school hiking trip in the French Alps is way out of his idea of any type of comfort zone.
School has never been a favourite place of Finn's or even tolerable in his opinion, so he's not that bothered when he falls behind his class as they hike through snow. But the very act of doing less, and preferring to sit out this particular activity - brings Finn more action, exercise and danger than he can ever have dreamed of.
Holy Nachos!
He is soon hiking, falling, then fleeing black uniformed mercenaries. He is far from school and home and flanked by two people who again, stretch his I can't believe this is happening to me imaginings. One is a boy from school, nicknamed The Prof for his encyclopediac knowledge on everything, and the annoying insistence on sharing it. The other person is Dr Lara Blake - a secret agent working for the British Museum of Natural History.
Mac n Cheese!
What triggers their abseiling, helicopter jumping, forest navigating, snow cave building, adventure is the fact that when Finn was alone in the French Alps (when he should have been hiking with his class), he found an egg. Which hatched. Revealing a bird like creature. Which in actual fact, was a baby dinosaur.
Sweet Mother of Mince Pies!!
Finn is surprised at the feelings he has for this small weird scaly, winged creature, he's named Artemis. He's only really worried about himself before, but his desire to protect his newly hatched microraptor is intense. Arty feels the same, wanting only to be with Finn. The Prof explains this as imprinting.
The only problem is, Dr Lara Blake wants Artemis to be taken to The British Museum of Natural History, and an evil organisation wants Artemis to entice the highest bidder.
Mission Microraptor is the first book in this series of fast-paced, heart-pumping, secret agent action. Finn O'Rourke and his nerdy classmate Milo George (aka The Prof) are thrown together into a story of espionage, survival and co-operation. These two hardly spoke before, but with no one else to rely on in situations far outside their past realms of possibility, they achieve great things working together.
The whole adventure revolves around a young, but quickly growing microraptor, and her bond with the first person she saw when she emerged from her egg - Finn. His past selfishness is slowly eroded by this bond and shared adventure with Milo. I loved watching Finn change along the way.
Humour is woven through the story (as Finn jokes when he's nervous and exclaims in favourite foods), bringing smiles to my face often, as these two boys navigate a dangerous but worthy quest of keeping a new friend safe.
I will be snapping up the very next episode when it is available.
Age - 8+
School has never been a favourite place of Finn's or even tolerable in his opinion, so he's not that bothered when he falls behind his class as they hike through snow. But the very act of doing less, and preferring to sit out this particular activity - brings Finn more action, exercise and danger than he can ever have dreamed of.
Holy Nachos!
He is soon hiking, falling, then fleeing black uniformed mercenaries. He is far from school and home and flanked by two people who again, stretch his I can't believe this is happening to me imaginings. One is a boy from school, nicknamed The Prof for his encyclopediac knowledge on everything, and the annoying insistence on sharing it. The other person is Dr Lara Blake - a secret agent working for the British Museum of Natural History.
Mac n Cheese!
What triggers their abseiling, helicopter jumping, forest navigating, snow cave building, adventure is the fact that when Finn was alone in the French Alps (when he should have been hiking with his class), he found an egg. Which hatched. Revealing a bird like creature. Which in actual fact, was a baby dinosaur.
Sweet Mother of Mince Pies!!
Finn is surprised at the feelings he has for this small weird scaly, winged creature, he's named Artemis. He's only really worried about himself before, but his desire to protect his newly hatched microraptor is intense. Arty feels the same, wanting only to be with Finn. The Prof explains this as imprinting.
The only problem is, Dr Lara Blake wants Artemis to be taken to The British Museum of Natural History, and an evil organisation wants Artemis to entice the highest bidder.
Mission Microraptor is the first book in this series of fast-paced, heart-pumping, secret agent action. Finn O'Rourke and his nerdy classmate Milo George (aka The Prof) are thrown together into a story of espionage, survival and co-operation. These two hardly spoke before, but with no one else to rely on in situations far outside their past realms of possibility, they achieve great things working together.
The whole adventure revolves around a young, but quickly growing microraptor, and her bond with the first person she saw when she emerged from her egg - Finn. His past selfishness is slowly eroded by this bond and shared adventure with Milo. I loved watching Finn change along the way.
Humour is woven through the story (as Finn jokes when he's nervous and exclaims in favourite foods), bringing smiles to my face often, as these two boys navigate a dangerous but worthy quest of keeping a new friend safe.
I will be snapping up the very next episode when it is available.
Age - 8+
April 1, 2024
Finn is on a school trip in the French Alps with his friend Milo (the ‘Professor’) when he falls into a glacier and discovers a mysterious egg. Later that night the egg begins to hatch, Finn thinks this could be his big break into becoming a YouTuber, so he films it. But he could never have anticipated what actually emerges - an extinct, 65 million-year-old, flying dinosaur called a microraptor.
Arty (Artemis) the microraptor immediately imprints on Finn but they hardly have any time to bond before their hotel room is under siege by mercenaries trying to steal the microraptor, and Finn, Milo and Arty only narrowly escape by abseiling out of the window with the help of secret agent Lara, of the special branch of the Natural History Museum. The four of them go on the run together to keep Arty out of the hands of the evil scientists and get her safely back to England.
Finn is a character that a lot of children will be able to relate to. He is not keen on hiking or any other kind of physical activity - he only likes three things: video games, takeaway food and a large couch. But as soon as Arty hatches he is astonished to discover that he will do anything to protect her, including hiking through the Black Forest, building their own shelter and foraging for food.
There are plenty of children’s books that claim to be funny but the humour is often limited to fart jokes - Philip’s writing is genuinely laugh-out-loud hilarious. This madcap adventure is crammed with non-stop action, survival skills, witty quips, and impossible creatures - perfect for fans of Rick Riordan, Maz Evans and Katie & Kevin Tsang’s ‘Dragon Realm’ books. This story would be particularly great for reluctant readers as it is relatively short and illustrated throughout by Euan Cook, in addition to being fun and fast-paced. And who doesn’t love a dinosaur?
‘Mission: Microraptor’ is also the first of a series and Finn and Milo will be back for their second adventure soon.
Thanks to Chicken House for the ARC.
Arty (Artemis) the microraptor immediately imprints on Finn but they hardly have any time to bond before their hotel room is under siege by mercenaries trying to steal the microraptor, and Finn, Milo and Arty only narrowly escape by abseiling out of the window with the help of secret agent Lara, of the special branch of the Natural History Museum. The four of them go on the run together to keep Arty out of the hands of the evil scientists and get her safely back to England.
Finn is a character that a lot of children will be able to relate to. He is not keen on hiking or any other kind of physical activity - he only likes three things: video games, takeaway food and a large couch. But as soon as Arty hatches he is astonished to discover that he will do anything to protect her, including hiking through the Black Forest, building their own shelter and foraging for food.
There are plenty of children’s books that claim to be funny but the humour is often limited to fart jokes - Philip’s writing is genuinely laugh-out-loud hilarious. This madcap adventure is crammed with non-stop action, survival skills, witty quips, and impossible creatures - perfect for fans of Rick Riordan, Maz Evans and Katie & Kevin Tsang’s ‘Dragon Realm’ books. This story would be particularly great for reluctant readers as it is relatively short and illustrated throughout by Euan Cook, in addition to being fun and fast-paced. And who doesn’t love a dinosaur?
‘Mission: Microraptor’ is also the first of a series and Finn and Milo will be back for their second adventure soon.
Thanks to Chicken House for the ARC.
May 11, 2024
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.
MISSION MICRORAPTOR is an action packed adventure across Europe as two boys try to protect an extinct dinosaur from an evil organisation.
It is a caper across Switzerland, Germany, and England as two boys you would not think are the best at survival (one food-obsessed couch-lover and one nerd with several encyclopaedias in his brain) find themselves on the run. There's an evil organisation, the goodies who still want to split up Finn and Arty, and various natural perils to face down too. The combination of Finn and Milo lets the book pepper the reader with all sorts of facts without feeling like it's a textbook.
There's a lot of voice in the book. From the food related exclamations (holy carbonara!) to the frequent fourth wall breaks assuring us that, no, Finn has not had a personality transplant and now likes nature, Finn's excitable and horrified-at-his-predicament personality comes across clearly.
This is a book specifically targeted at helping boys find books that make them readers, a demographic that reads less than their female counterparts for a variety of reasons. It very much feels like a more nature-based version of the Alex Rider series.
Euan Cook's illustrations dot the book. They are mostly small pictures of items - like the spy kit - but there are a few larger illustrations of particularly moments. The "swooshes" at the start of each chapter also give it a nice animal action feeling.
MISSION MICRORAPTOR is an action packed adventure across Europe as two boys try to protect an extinct dinosaur from an evil organisation.
It is a caper across Switzerland, Germany, and England as two boys you would not think are the best at survival (one food-obsessed couch-lover and one nerd with several encyclopaedias in his brain) find themselves on the run. There's an evil organisation, the goodies who still want to split up Finn and Arty, and various natural perils to face down too. The combination of Finn and Milo lets the book pepper the reader with all sorts of facts without feeling like it's a textbook.
There's a lot of voice in the book. From the food related exclamations (holy carbonara!) to the frequent fourth wall breaks assuring us that, no, Finn has not had a personality transplant and now likes nature, Finn's excitable and horrified-at-his-predicament personality comes across clearly.
This is a book specifically targeted at helping boys find books that make them readers, a demographic that reads less than their female counterparts for a variety of reasons. It very much feels like a more nature-based version of the Alex Rider series.
Euan Cook's illustrations dot the book. They are mostly small pictures of items - like the spy kit - but there are a few larger illustrations of particularly moments. The "swooshes" at the start of each chapter also give it a nice animal action feeling.
May 17, 2024
Mission Microraptor is a funny action adventure perfect for reluctant readers. I read it with my eleven-year-old son, and he loved it. We don’t get very far with most books as he quickly brands them ‘boring’. Mission Microraptor grabbed his attention right from the start. Before the end of the first chapter the main character, Finn, falls into a glacier and discovers an egg.
The story takes off like a rocket when the egg hatches to reveal a baby microraptor and Finn posts a video of it. He names the raptor Artemis and they quickly form a special bond but Sapient Ex, a secret evil organisation, see the video and come after Artemis.
Finn goes on the run with boy-genius, Milo, and a special agent from the British Museum of Natural History. Cue helicopter chases, explosions and Bear Grylls style survival lessons.
In the beginning, Finn and Milo aren’t friends or ‘special agent’ material, but their banter and growing friendship is a joy. It reminds me of Alex Rider, but with more jokes, facts and prehistoric animals. We loved the illustrations and are both very much looking forward to more books in this brilliant and exciting series.
The story takes off like a rocket when the egg hatches to reveal a baby microraptor and Finn posts a video of it. He names the raptor Artemis and they quickly form a special bond but Sapient Ex, a secret evil organisation, see the video and come after Artemis.
Finn goes on the run with boy-genius, Milo, and a special agent from the British Museum of Natural History. Cue helicopter chases, explosions and Bear Grylls style survival lessons.
In the beginning, Finn and Milo aren’t friends or ‘special agent’ material, but their banter and growing friendship is a joy. It reminds me of Alex Rider, but with more jokes, facts and prehistoric animals. We loved the illustrations and are both very much looking forward to more books in this brilliant and exciting series.
April 29, 2024
I have a lot to say about this wonderful book, but to keep it short, my main takeaways are: a FUN FAST PACED super adventure.
On a school trip, Finn comes across an egg!! (how he does, read it to find out!) And it’s not just any egg! Out hatches a microraptor, which he names Artemis. He and the little bird (that is growing before his eyes) bond, and on a quest to keep the baddies away from Artemis, Finn and his friend Milo have madcap adventures in the forest, in the villains lair, and on and on.
I laughed out loud so many times! So many funny one-liners. Finn’s humour is so fun to read. His thoughts. His lovely friendship with Milo is so caring and considerate.
It’s a book that can be enjoyed by everyone, but if you know of any reluctant boy readers 8+ please give them a copy of this. I'm sure they will love it. It has comedy, thriller, adventure, friendship.
And the illustrations are wonderful by Euan Cook.
Can’t wait to see what happens in Book 2!!!
On a school trip, Finn comes across an egg!! (how he does, read it to find out!) And it’s not just any egg! Out hatches a microraptor, which he names Artemis. He and the little bird (that is growing before his eyes) bond, and on a quest to keep the baddies away from Artemis, Finn and his friend Milo have madcap adventures in the forest, in the villains lair, and on and on.
I laughed out loud so many times! So many funny one-liners. Finn’s humour is so fun to read. His thoughts. His lovely friendship with Milo is so caring and considerate.
It’s a book that can be enjoyed by everyone, but if you know of any reluctant boy readers 8+ please give them a copy of this. I'm sure they will love it. It has comedy, thriller, adventure, friendship.
And the illustrations are wonderful by Euan Cook.
Can’t wait to see what happens in Book 2!!!
May 8, 2025
My 11-year-old son is a reluctant reader, so outside of school he rarely finishes a book for pleasure, yet he LOVED Mission Microraptor which has Jurassic Park meets Alex Rider vibes. It's action packed, funny, and it was incredibly touching that Finn would have done anything to protect Artemis. It really was a pleasure watching my son become invested in this story and relay events to me with such enthusiasm. There are not enough books out there for boys, so we can’t wait for the next book in this series!!
April 19, 2024
Finn and Milo find a dinosaur egg that hatches and out pops Arty, a microraptor. The friends are determined to keep her safe, but lots of people are keen to get their hands on the dinosaur. Full of adventure and funny quips from Finn. His love for Arty is nearly matched by his love for food. Can't wait to read more stories from this brill new author.
September 1, 2024
Kavvadias Kaves #1
Mission #1
Silly action fest which tries to inject some humour into the tale, which is quite hit and miss really.
Average predictable fare, and the sets it up for the series to go on with more missions.
Mission #1
Silly action fest which tries to inject some humour into the tale, which is quite hit and miss really.
Average predictable fare, and the sets it up for the series to go on with more missions.
May 11, 2024
Fast-paced and fun, Phillip nails it. Very enjoyable and great set up for sequels!
April 22, 2024
Holy Mayo! What a dino-tastic middle-grade novel for kids. My 8yo (year 3) thought the narrator was Bilbo Baggins-ish in his devotion to food and equally strong lack of appetite for adventure.... he did not go looking for adventure but it certainly found him.
Fun, gripping, and full of cool facts. 8yo loved the settings like the zoo, the micro-raptor itself, and the way Milo's character talks a lot. Eagerly awaiting the sequel!
Fun, gripping, and full of cool facts. 8yo loved the settings like the zoo, the micro-raptor itself, and the way Milo's character talks a lot. Eagerly awaiting the sequel!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews