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The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure
Great-Uncle Lancelot's latest invention, a time machine, has been stolen by a villain and his henchman. The evil pair have travelled back in time to the Age of the Dinosaurs to capture the beasts. Emma, Ivan and Conrad travel back through time with Lancelot to save the dinosaurs.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
About the author
Gerald Durrell
225 books1,774 followersGerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell was born in India in 1925. His elder siblings are Lawrence Durrell, Leslie Durrell, and Margaret Durrell. His family settled on Corfu when Gerald was a boy and he spent his time studying its wildlife. He relates these experiences in the trilogy beginning with My Family And Other Animals, and continuing with Birds, Beasts, And Relatives and The Garden Of The Gods. In his books he writes with wry humour and great perception about both the humans and the animals he meets.
On leaving Corfu he returned to England to work on the staff of Whipsnade Park as a student keeper. His adventures there are told with characteristic energy in Beasts In My Belfry. A few years later, Gerald began organising his own animal-collecting expeditions. The first, to the Cameroons, was followed by expeditions to Paraguay, Argentina and Sierra Leone. He recounts these experiences in a number of books, including The Drunken Forest. Gerald also visited many countries while shooting various television series, including An Amateur Naturalist. In 1958 Gerald Durrell realised a lifelong dream when he set up the Jersey Zoological Park, followed a few years later by the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust.
Gerald was married twice; Jacquie Durrell (1951-1979), Lee Durrell (1979-1995).
Gerald Durrell's style is exuberant, passionate and acutely observed. He died in 1995.
On leaving Corfu he returned to England to work on the staff of Whipsnade Park as a student keeper. His adventures there are told with characteristic energy in Beasts In My Belfry. A few years later, Gerald began organising his own animal-collecting expeditions. The first, to the Cameroons, was followed by expeditions to Paraguay, Argentina and Sierra Leone. He recounts these experiences in a number of books, including The Drunken Forest. Gerald also visited many countries while shooting various television series, including An Amateur Naturalist. In 1958 Gerald Durrell realised a lifelong dream when he set up the Jersey Zoological Park, followed a few years later by the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust.
Gerald was married twice; Jacquie Durrell (1951-1979), Lee Durrell (1979-1995).
Gerald Durrell's style is exuberant, passionate and acutely observed. He died in 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 16, 2023
I had a feeling of huge nostalgia as I had this book as a kid and remembered it fondly. I have not had a chance to read the first volume about the journey around the world, so I dont have a full view of both works. The major topics here are cruelty againts animals and also poaching wild animals, which was a very relevant topic back in the 90s. I believe we have developed a lot since then in this respect and books like this helped a new generation of kids to appreciate animals more. I'm not saying unfortunate cruelty still does not happen, we all know it does every day around us.
The book also rightly shines a light on the effects of pollution and carelessness people still have today against the environment. All this is wrapped into a time-travel story with dinosaurs, so being a 90s kid I remember this being an instant hit back then. With today's mindset, Uncle Gerry and his swearing-dotted talk is not compatible with today's audience, he has a cruel and dismissive-degrading stance towards children, although it's quite clear from the story he loves them very much.
All-in-all, this book has not aged very well, the plot is simplistic, the way of conversation from uncle Gerry is sometimes too degrading towards kids, but overall this can still be enjoyed for what it is, a statement about how everyday kids can make a difference in their environment, be a hero for a day and doing good deeds.
The book also rightly shines a light on the effects of pollution and carelessness people still have today against the environment. All this is wrapped into a time-travel story with dinosaurs, so being a 90s kid I remember this being an instant hit back then. With today's mindset, Uncle Gerry and his swearing-dotted talk is not compatible with today's audience, he has a cruel and dismissive-degrading stance towards children, although it's quite clear from the story he loves them very much.
All-in-all, this book has not aged very well, the plot is simplistic, the way of conversation from uncle Gerry is sometimes too degrading towards kids, but overall this can still be enjoyed for what it is, a statement about how everyday kids can make a difference in their environment, be a hero for a day and doing good deeds.
August 4, 2023
Just as weird as I remember --I like the part where their uncle constantly lets them scout ahead in a dinosaur infested landscape looking for two murderous criminals
March 1, 2023
This is the second adventure of the three Dollybutt children (and no, I do not find their last name amusing....) and their whacky great uncle Lancelot, who has a wonderous balloon. He now has equipped his balloon with a time machine....but evil Sir Jasper and his goon, Throtlethumbs (I again did not chuckle), have stolen a copy of it! They have gone back to the time of the dinosaurs, to collect babies and bring them back for fame and profit. And so Lancelot asks the children if they'd care to join him in going back to dinosaur times as well to thwart this plot.
Off they go, and wondrously the dinosaurs can all talk! The kids and the reader meet lots of different species (a bit instructional and not particularly fun reading), dangerous things happen, the bad guys are thwarted with dinosaur help, and they return to their own time not only with the bad guys but with a baby Gnathosaurus and a baby Diplodocus without any troubling ethical questions (although both wanted to go on the journey, I don't think they'd reached the age of consent).
So basically we have 96 pages of an ethical lesson that animal poaching is bad because it is bad, and some now out of date dinosaur instruction. No character development, no depth to the story, and no sparkly wit. And I did not care for the villainization of the T Rex (surely a naturalist should appreciate apex predators?), but I did learn Gnathosaurus existed which is some small gain....
Off they go, and wondrously the dinosaurs can all talk! The kids and the reader meet lots of different species (a bit instructional and not particularly fun reading), dangerous things happen, the bad guys are thwarted with dinosaur help, and they return to their own time not only with the bad guys but with a baby Gnathosaurus and a baby Diplodocus without any troubling ethical questions (although both wanted to go on the journey, I don't think they'd reached the age of consent).
So basically we have 96 pages of an ethical lesson that animal poaching is bad because it is bad, and some now out of date dinosaur instruction. No character development, no depth to the story, and no sparkly wit. And I did not care for the villainization of the T Rex (surely a naturalist should appreciate apex predators?), but I did learn Gnathosaurus existed which is some small gain....
May 18, 2018
Дедушка Ланселот вернулся! Где он был всё это время? Ему довелось проследить за передвижениями войск Наполеона, стать очевидцем всех битв. Оказалось, Ланселот имеет машину времени, позволяющую ему отправляться с помощью летающего дома куда угодно, стоит того захотеть. Не он один на такое был способен, поэтому теперь требуется разыскать беглецов, скрывшихся в доисторических временах. Снова Эмма, Конрад и Иван отправляются вместе с Ланселотом, их ждут встречи с динозаврами. Для начала они отправятся в триасовый период, для чего изучат карты. Дети придут в удивление, они узнают, что некогда все материки составляли единый континент, прозываемый нами Пангеей.
(c) Trounin
(c) Trounin
October 10, 2019
I haven't even opened this book in years, and it was fun to read it again and enjoy the nice illustrations. It's not one of Gerald Durrell's best kids' books, being a bit simplistic compared to most of them. For me its appeal is mainly nostalgic, but The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure is still a nice simple story.
November 29, 2022
This book was a mix of adult views and juvenile views. I felt like parts were preachy.
May 21, 2014
owen's thoughts...Emma, the twins, and their Uncle Lancelot travel back in time to the dinosaur age. The first time machine Lancelot made was stolen by two hunters trying to get the biggest game of all - dinosaurs!
I like this book because it's about two of my favorite things: time travel and the three periods of dinosaurs (triassic, jurassic, and cretaceous).
I like this book because it's about two of my favorite things: time travel and the three periods of dinosaurs (triassic, jurassic, and cretaceous).
March 9, 2013
Loved this, loved it's prequel. Hardback got damaged and couldn't replace with a new copy as it was out of print, at least at the time of the insurance claim. An excellent children's book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews