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Dinosaur Trouble
SOMETIMES THE MOST UNLIKELY PAIRS MAKE THE BEST OF FRIENDS. A hilarious prehistoric yarn for newly-independent readers from a master of children's animal stories.
All pterodactyls know that flying dinosaurs are superior, and all apatosauruses know that any dinosaur with only two legs is surely second-class. Nosy, a pterodactyl, and Banty, an apatosaurus, become great friends even though their parents have forbidden them to play together. With Nosy's fast flying and Banty's smarts, the two take on the biggest predator on the Great Plain, and conquer their parents' prejudices in one great adventure.
All pterodactyls know that flying dinosaurs are superior, and all apatosauruses know that any dinosaur with only two legs is surely second-class. Nosy, a pterodactyl, and Banty, an apatosaurus, become great friends even though their parents have forbidden them to play together. With Nosy's fast flying and Banty's smarts, the two take on the biggest predator on the Great Plain, and conquer their parents' prejudices in one great adventure.
118 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
11 people are currently reading
274 people want to read
About the author
Dick King-Smith
330 books307 followersDick King-Smith was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England, surrounded by pet animals. After twenty years as a farmer, he turned to teaching and then to writing children's books.
Dick writes mostly about animals: farmyard fantasy, as he likes to call it, often about pigs, his special favorites. He enjoys writing for children, meeting the children who read his books, and knowing that they get enjoyment from what he does.
Among his well-loved books is Babe, The Gallant Pig, which was recently made into a major motion picture, and was nominated for an Academy Award.
Dick lived with his wife in a small 17th-century cottage, about three miles from the house where he was born.
Dick writes mostly about animals: farmyard fantasy, as he likes to call it, often about pigs, his special favorites. He enjoys writing for children, meeting the children who read his books, and knowing that they get enjoyment from what he does.
Among his well-loved books is Babe, The Gallant Pig, which was recently made into a major motion picture, and was nominated for an Academy Award.
Dick lived with his wife in a small 17th-century cottage, about three miles from the house where he was born.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
November 7, 2024
ENGLISH: Two families of Jurassic reptiles, one of pterodactyls and one of Apatosaurus (or should we call them Brontosaurs?) become friends through their children. T.rex, of course, is the villain, even though T.rex was Cretaceous, rather than Jurassic, so it shouldn't be there. But its marketing value makes it very difficult to leave it out of the tale.
The fact that both females are smart, while both males are dumb, makes one think that perhaps King-Smith is being saur-sexist. Fortunately, both children (boy and girl) are smart, which provides a counter-example.
A nice book for dinosaur-loving people, which usually means all children and very many adults.
ESPAÑOL: Dos familias de reptiles Jurásicos, una de pterodáctilos y otra de apatosaurios (¿o deberíamos llamarlos brontosaurios?) se hacen amigas a través de sus hijos. Naturalmente, T.rex es el villano, aunque T.rex era Cretácico, no Jurásico, por lo que no debería estar allí. Pero su valor de marketing hace que sea muy difícil dejarlo fuera del relato.
El hecho de que ambas hembras sean inteligentes, mientras que ambos machos son tontos, hace pensar que tal vez King-Smith está siendo sauro-sexista. Afortunadamente, ambas crías (niño y niña) son inteligentes, lo que ofrece un contraejemplo.
Bonito libro para los amantes de los dinosaurios, lo que normalmente significa todos los niños y muchísimos adultos.
The fact that both females are smart, while both males are dumb, makes one think that perhaps King-Smith is being saur-sexist. Fortunately, both children (boy and girl) are smart, which provides a counter-example.
A nice book for dinosaur-loving people, which usually means all children and very many adults.
ESPAÑOL: Dos familias de reptiles Jurásicos, una de pterodáctilos y otra de apatosaurios (¿o deberíamos llamarlos brontosaurios?) se hacen amigas a través de sus hijos. Naturalmente, T.rex es el villano, aunque T.rex era Cretácico, no Jurásico, por lo que no debería estar allí. Pero su valor de marketing hace que sea muy difícil dejarlo fuera del relato.
El hecho de que ambas hembras sean inteligentes, mientras que ambos machos son tontos, hace pensar que tal vez King-Smith está siendo sauro-sexista. Afortunadamente, ambas crías (niño y niña) son inteligentes, lo que ofrece un contraejemplo.
Bonito libro para los amantes de los dinosaurios, lo que normalmente significa todos los niños y muchísimos adultos.
July 21, 2016
I checked this out after seeing it on a preschool read aloud booklist. My kids, 3.5 and 5.5 looooove Dinosaurs, so I thought it would be perfect. Though they enjoyed it, it was not perfect. I definitely would not recommend this for preschool aged kids. It is way too wordy and the language much too advanced.
The story is simple (kind of reminded me of Land Before Time, which my kids love). You spend 13 chapters getting to know the characters and setting up the conflict, and then bam ... in two pages you have the resolution and the book is over with the next flip of a page.
I think an older, independent reader who loves dinosaurs would enjoy this book, but it wasn't -- in my opinion -- a great book to read aloud to preschool aged children.
The story is simple (kind of reminded me of Land Before Time, which my kids love). You spend 13 chapters getting to know the characters and setting up the conflict, and then bam ... in two pages you have the resolution and the book is over with the next flip of a page.
I think an older, independent reader who loves dinosaurs would enjoy this book, but it wasn't -- in my opinion -- a great book to read aloud to preschool aged children.
April 1, 2008
Kids LOVE dinosaurs. This has plenty of dinos, including a big bad T-rex named (I love it!) "Hack the Ripper".It's got a friendship story, some suspense and action and a happy ending.
Yes, it's also got a mom dino who uses a lot of big words. But isn't this the generation having Harry Potter read to them in the cradle? Am I the only one who spends regular time vainly trying to get parents to read books more appropriate to their kids' chronological ages?
Aviatrix's vocabulary isn't going to bother kids who have this read aloud to them. And they will love it.
Yes, it's also got a mom dino who uses a lot of big words. But isn't this the generation having Harry Potter read to them in the cradle? Am I the only one who spends regular time vainly trying to get parents to read books more appropriate to their kids' chronological ages?
Aviatrix's vocabulary isn't going to bother kids who have this read aloud to them. And they will love it.
June 23, 2017
This book was just ok as a read-aloud with my son. Even though he loves dinosaurs, this one didn't hold his attention (or mine!) like some of the other high-interest chapter books we have been reading. It was a bit overly wordy and I think the whole concept of apatosauruses being prejudice towards pterodactyls and vice versa and the bigger picture of that message might be lost on younger children. So, I am definitely recommending this chapter book for older elementary school children. Full review to come.
June 6, 2022
Fun, dinosaur story suitable for developing readers aged 7+ who are beginning to enjoy longer chapter books. The broad vocabulary used by one of the dinosaurs makes for an interesting additional challenge for young readers too!
January 14, 2012
This is my first time reading a book by 'Dick King Smith', who is known for writing the much loved children's film 'Babe'. In this adventure tale, he moves away from his farm animal characters to a much older, primitative cast, of Pterodactyls and Apatosaurs dinosaurs, who are forced to take on the most fiercest T-Rex in the land.
'Nosy', a pterodactyl, and 'Banty', an apatosaurus, become great friends, however their parents do not agree on their friendship as they both come from two different familes of dinosaurs. The two come up with a cunning plan to on how to free the land from 'Hack the ripper' (T-Rex). Both their parents are reluctant to join in on the plan but however decide to put their differences aside and help out. When the pterodactyls save 'Banty' from the terrible T-Rex, the adult dinosaurs learn to become friends however does Nosy and Banty's plan work on getting rid of 'Hack the Ripper'?You will have to read to find out.....
This book is very appealing for confident readers in Year 4/5 class as it uses huge,interesting,vocabulary words and the addition of strange dinosaur names adds extra appeal. The story potrays the theme for children to understand that it doesn't matter what background people come from, we can all be friends. This could lead on to a discussion in class about 'friendship' and caring for others no matter what their differences may be. The cover is very misleading as by looking at it, you would think the book has several coloured pictures, however they are very limited. The ones the illustrator does show on the other hand, portray the feelings of the characters at the time within the story.
'Nosy', a pterodactyl, and 'Banty', an apatosaurus, become great friends, however their parents do not agree on their friendship as they both come from two different familes of dinosaurs. The two come up with a cunning plan to on how to free the land from 'Hack the ripper' (T-Rex). Both their parents are reluctant to join in on the plan but however decide to put their differences aside and help out. When the pterodactyls save 'Banty' from the terrible T-Rex, the adult dinosaurs learn to become friends however does Nosy and Banty's plan work on getting rid of 'Hack the Ripper'?You will have to read to find out.....
This book is very appealing for confident readers in Year 4/5 class as it uses huge,interesting,vocabulary words and the addition of strange dinosaur names adds extra appeal. The story potrays the theme for children to understand that it doesn't matter what background people come from, we can all be friends. This could lead on to a discussion in class about 'friendship' and caring for others no matter what their differences may be. The cover is very misleading as by looking at it, you would think the book has several coloured pictures, however they are very limited. The ones the illustrator does show on the other hand, portray the feelings of the characters at the time within the story.
April 10, 2020
I really wanted to like this, and my youngest loved the dinosaur aspect of the story, but I couldn't move past the fact that the Mother Pterodactyl felt superior to others and frequently judged others on their ability to use an extensive vocabulary, using unnecessarily long words to describe things just to prove how educated she was.
April 24, 2015
Started out really great and funny with all the long words from Aviatrix and with Clawed's introduction.
But really lost steam later.
Both my son (7 years) and i feel that the Apatosaurus family could have been more interesting...
But really lost steam later.
Both my son (7 years) and i feel that the Apatosaurus family could have been more interesting...
March 23, 2025
One thing I didn't like from the start was that in both families, the Father's are initially ignorant of their child's existence, and then after, they're both pretty disinterested and dismissive. They're also both portrayed as being very stupid. Even their children comment on how stupid they are.
Then the parents' relationship with each other is based on a lie one pair believe and the other pair happily deceive them about. So the foundation of their friendship isn't about overcoming prejudice or superiority, which is a shame, because that is what happens, but it seems like the characters didn't think the couple would get there on their own, and so had to be lied to. What would have been better is if the pterodactyls had told the truth, the brontosaurs would have had a concrete reason to dislike them, and it would have been great to see them overcome even that.
And then they all work together to kill the t-rex, which seems a bit much.
CW:
-the t-rex likes to target baby dinosaurs because they taste better
-the characters set a trap to scare the t-rex and it ends up killing him
-the characters never face any consequences for lying. It never comes back to haunt them or colour their relationships.
Then the parents' relationship with each other is based on a lie one pair believe and the other pair happily deceive them about. So the foundation of their friendship isn't about overcoming prejudice or superiority, which is a shame, because that is what happens, but it seems like the characters didn't think the couple would get there on their own, and so had to be lied to. What would have been better is if the pterodactyls had told the truth, the brontosaurs would have had a concrete reason to dislike them, and it would have been great to see them overcome even that.
And then they all work together to kill the t-rex, which seems a bit much.
CW:
-the t-rex likes to target baby dinosaurs because they taste better
-the characters set a trap to scare the t-rex and it ends up killing him
-the characters never face any consequences for lying. It never comes back to haunt them or colour their relationships.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2021
Oh friends...this was a disappointment 😞. Succinctly I had problems with the writing/figuring out the target audience, the character tropes and lastly it wasn't fun to read. Further explanation below...
My first complaint shows up on pages 2& 3 where we have the following words...nidifrugous,pulchritudinous, and nomenclature. While I love vocab words as much as the next person, I don't think these are suitable for a beginning reader and don't build reading confidence (the author didn't even include phonetic pronunciation!)
Complaints 2 &3 arrive on page 10...where we have the trope of the slow witted disinterested father...Nosy (our newly hatched hero) meets his father Clawed and their first exchange is like this "hello daddy!" *Clawed turning to the mom* "what's he talking about?" (BTW our heroines father has a similar scene a few pages later) and the mom, before the end of the page, tells the father "you were never very bright dear". It is this disdain the mom shows (complaint 3)and it's persistence throughout the whole book that make this a 1 star review. Why normalize that sort of mean spirited thinking?
My first complaint shows up on pages 2& 3 where we have the following words...nidifrugous,pulchritudinous, and nomenclature. While I love vocab words as much as the next person, I don't think these are suitable for a beginning reader and don't build reading confidence (the author didn't even include phonetic pronunciation!)
Complaints 2 &3 arrive on page 10...where we have the trope of the slow witted disinterested father...Nosy (our newly hatched hero) meets his father Clawed and their first exchange is like this "hello daddy!" *Clawed turning to the mom* "what's he talking about?" (BTW our heroines father has a similar scene a few pages later) and the mom, before the end of the page, tells the father "you were never very bright dear". It is this disdain the mom shows (complaint 3)and it's persistence throughout the whole book that make this a 1 star review. Why normalize that sort of mean spirited thinking?
November 20, 2022
Earlier today I read a more famous book by this author. I hesitated to give that 1* but couldn't justify anything else.
In this case this only gets 1* as I can't give it less.
Most of the book has language aimed at either a new reader or to be read to a new reader. Except for the parts where multi-syllable words happen in every sentence. These are explained but I can't imagine a parent trying to pronounce some of them to a child or a child even attempting them.
Then you have the plot. Which is a mess. I'm not even going to start to think about the time frame or the 100 million years or so between the creatures involved. That would make it worse. I'm not thinking about how genders are represented either. That would lead to madness. In fact I want to forget I ever attempted to read this.
Possibly the worst book I have read. One I will try to repress from memory.
In this case this only gets 1* as I can't give it less.
Most of the book has language aimed at either a new reader or to be read to a new reader. Except for the parts where multi-syllable words happen in every sentence. These are explained but I can't imagine a parent trying to pronounce some of them to a child or a child even attempting them.
Then you have the plot. Which is a mess. I'm not even going to start to think about the time frame or the 100 million years or so between the creatures involved. That would make it worse. I'm not thinking about how genders are represented either. That would lead to madness. In fact I want to forget I ever attempted to read this.
Possibly the worst book I have read. One I will try to repress from memory.
March 5, 2018
My 5 year old liked this- he would give it a better review than me. It's not a great read aloud. The pterodactyl mother is known for having an expansive vocabulary- bigger than mine... So I'm struggling to sound out some of these words while I'm reading aloud to my kids. Ha! And of course they don't understand why there are so many words they (or I) don't know. It didn't really make sense. The conflict isn't really developed, the characters are very shallow. The thing that bothered me the most is that the fathers in the story are portrayed as dumb and disrespected by their wives (the pterodactyl family in particular). Some may find it funny, but I do not want that kind of attitudes expressed to my kids. I may try another from this author but I'm not super impressed.
January 30, 2021
A fantastic dinosaur story which explores an unlikely friendship as they join together to defeat the t-rex. A fairly long story which you could use with ks1 or ks2. The only concern with ks1 is the use of numerous long words. You would have to take the time to explore these words and there meanings. Good use with literacy. You could do diary entries linking with key points in the story. You could do thank you letters. There are good links to science, evolution and habitats. Also another good book to explore phse issues and that we are all different and that doesn't stop us being friends.
May 22, 2025
It was ok. We Loved the Art, it's top notch. the story is a bit lacking. There's a pretty big lie that never gets resolved. There's a lot of prejudice and rudeness that never really gets called out and has an uneasy resolution. And there's a kinda weird death scene. Idk, what is off about it, but it's a bit odd. We did this as a read aloud. I had to add some commentary. I don't think I'd just give this to my grade schooler.
May 23, 2025
Ever since I read it, this book has been number one in my top five (or top anything. You get the point.) I love this book so much. Nosy and Banty’s friendship reminds me of me and my best friend. The way they killed the T Rex is utterly stunning.
Imagine, a pair of herbivores killing the most ruthless predator on the planet (at that time). I guess that is the beauty of the book. The imagination.
I would definitely recommend reading this book.
Thank you. I hope this review helped you.
Imagine, a pair of herbivores killing the most ruthless predator on the planet (at that time). I guess that is the beauty of the book. The imagination.
I would definitely recommend reading this book.
Thank you. I hope this review helped you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2017
Fun story about two different dinosaur families and how their children who became friends (despite their differences) were able to work together to solve a problem. Great lesson for kids! The dinosaur parents were quite funny characters. I read this as another book in my book club with my grandson. Can't wait to see what he thought of it!
May 16, 2018
I read this aloud to my 4 year old because he likes dinosaurs. He liked it, but I did not. There were LOTS of big words that went over his head, as well as a lot of humor regarding how stupid the father characters are that I did not care for. It also had a lot of dialogue which is not very fun to read aloud. I think a 2nd/3rd grader would enjoy this but I am not a fan.
June 29, 2018
I read this aloud to my three year old after seeing it recommend on a website. The story was very similar to the land before time, but not nearly as good. One if the characters used a lot of really long words that my toddler didn't understand and some of the characters were unnecessarily mean to each other. My son didn't enjoy this nearly as much as the last book we read.
July 2, 2018
Warning to other parents: this book has several times where a child says they will hide something from their parents or lie to their parents. Also, the moms are very unkind to the dads.
The theme of the book that everyone has differences, but we are more alike than we think is a good message. But most of the content is not appropriate for the age of the readers of this book.
The theme of the book that everyone has differences, but we are more alike than we think is a good message. But most of the content is not appropriate for the age of the readers of this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2024
I can't work out who this is for: the narrative is too simplistic for parents, the language is too complicated for kids whilst the "family" dino dynamic is dated, to say the least. I did like the sense of collaboration come the final act, though.
My five-year-old's review upon completion says it all: "It was fine... can we read Captain Underpants now."
My five-year-old's review upon completion says it all: "It was fine... can we read Captain Underpants now."
November 22, 2025
When I was a little boy I loved dinosaurs and I was also very fond of reading books by Dick King-Smith. Sadly this book didn't exist until I was already an adult, but I dare say if it had of been around when I was little I would have loved it. Even now as an adult I enjoyed it. it's a very funny and entertaining story.
January 24, 2019
I have just finished reading this book with my little boy. We enjoyed the story, and he cried when we finished as he does with many books he loves.
I found the characters weren't especially loveable or "deep", but we read through it quite quickly.
I found the characters weren't especially loveable or "deep", but we read through it quite quickly.
October 26, 2022
Read aloud to my kids. I loved how it teaches new vocabulary words, but I couldn’t get past how snobby this was. And of course, kids don’t need the concept of stupid dads reinforced like this. And it was not subtle.
November 24, 2023
Felt like it was written much longer ago than 2005 - there's a whole lot of unnecessary "dads are dumb" and other patriarchy-influenced stereotypes in here that surprised me. Lots and lots of big words to explain, especially reading to a kindergartener. The kid enjoyed it, but I was not a fan.
June 23, 2017
Read this aloud to my four year old, and I despised it. I could not wait to get through it. It was just stupid as heck.
February 15, 2018
Unbearable for the reader.
-Mom
-Mom
September 10, 2018
Good vocab for C
August 14, 2019
577 - 2019
February 26, 2020
The little dinosaur name is Nosy.
Nosy and his mom go to find his dad.
And Nosy made a friend name is banty
Nosy and his mom go to find his dad.
And Nosy made a friend name is banty
May 29, 2020
Very good and adventurous
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews