Dinosaur Tamer

by Carol Greathouse, John Shroades (Illustrator)

A modern tall tale that brings together dinosaurs and cowboys. Back when the old, old west was still as green as a bristlecone pine and cowboys were as common as warts on a Stegosaurus, one cowboy stood out among all cowboys. With the strength of an Iguanodon and the speed of a Utah Raptor, lasso-tossing, Pleiosaurus-riding Rocky is legendary. There isn?t a dinosaur in the land that would think of giving Rocky a lick of trouble. That is, until he meets T. Rex, the rip-roarin?est, snip-snortin?est, flame-breathin?est reptilian ever to stomp the earth. But Rocky is up to the challenge, and his efforts to tame T. Rex take the disagreeing duo on a Western adventure of epic proportion.

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, Childrens, Fiction, Westerns

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever encountered two things that came together that you didn't know you wanted to be together?

Like, say, cowboys and dinosaurs?

Yes?

Yes.

Cowboys and dinosaurs. Not just in a "cowboys encounter lone dinosaur" sense, but as in "dinosaurs in the Wild West, we'd better wrangle them" sense. Real alternate-ecology, Weird West stuff.

I approve. Thumbs up.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're going to name-drop prehistoric animals using their complicated real names (Deinonychus, Ankylosaurus, etc.), that means you are aiming at a certain kid. That kid will not accept you calling a Smilodon a "sabertooth tiger". Comes close, but misses.

[Israel Waltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Modern Fantasy
Grade: middle grades
The Dinosaur Tamer is a really good book with a fun story and illustrations. this book does a great job of mixing two very different ideas, that being the old west and the dinosaurs) and making it into a fun story that captivates the reader. The illustrations in this book make this book even better. the pictures are drawn in a way that makes you want to know what happens next and keeps you reading. the end of the story shows us that the entire story is being told by a father to his son to explain why the shadow of the mountain looks like a kid riding a dinosaur. I think this just adds to the old west feel a lot. I would recommend this book.

[Mickayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grade range: 2-5
Genre: Modern Fantasy
This book was so fun! I love how it has elements of real dinosaurs, the wild west AND national parks. This would be such a fun read aloud before a unit about dinosaurs. I would so love to read this to a class, but I think just having this book in my classroom library would be so fun too! I believe so many students would love this book!

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

My daughter picked this book out at the library the other day. We've tried to read it several times and she keeps stopping me half way through because she's done. I, personally, find the books languaging a challenge, including the scientific dinosaur names.

If you have an older child who loves dinosaurs, and cowboys this is the book for you.

[Mae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of hard names of types of dinosaurs to be pronounced by all readers unless you know the names. Story was okay.

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny and lighthearted Old West story featuring dinosaurs instead of horses and buffalo.

[Sarah Brooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

It wouldn’t have been so bad, except that the language goes from proper English to a stereo typical western movie talk where sentence structure is atrocious and the characters can’t pronounce or speak properly. If the author chose to not do the lame accent I would have enjoyed it more.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect. A little long, but I think the preschoolers can sit throughout. Geographical stuff will go over their heads, but adults will enjoy it. They'll enjoy the story of a boy taming dinosaurs. And fabulous to have dinosaurs and Ol' West put together. A perfect twist to my Cowboy theme. And the kids may recognize "Utah" and "Great Salt Lake!" :-)

1/16/13 & 1/17/13: Wed. group was normal size (about 25) and Thu. was even smaller than last week--a family with 3 kids and only 1 old enough to comprehend the books. The Wed. group sat through this well. They weren't jumpy and excited from it, but they were interested in what happened. Not the absolute best, but it was good and they did well. The boy on Thu. totally lost interest halfway in, and didn't help that mother kept talking to all the kids as I read.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 6 year old son loves books about dinosaurs and cowboys, so he really enjoyed this. The cover itself is an accurate description of the book, a little cowboy who lassos and tames a T-Rex. Every little boy's fantasy right? The only thing that irked me is the Author threw in a bunch of large, and random dinosaur names. I think that it took away from the story, and made it too complicated for kids new to reading on their own.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very inventive story about how all the National Parks were created. Rocky, just a boy, could tame any dinosaur. One day the roughest, the toughest, the most ferocious dinosaur,T.Rex, shows up in town and Rocky aims to tame him. All over the United States they went creating the landscape. The map at the end of the book shows all the places they traveled. The illustrations are excellent and capture the story perfectly.

[The Library Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

All you've got here is a cowboy story, complete with pseudo cowboy talk, with dinosaurs subbin for horses. But since both dinos and cowboys are irresistible little boy topics, this book will be popular.

[Adrianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've decided to add reviews of library books that Will has enjoyed. My criterion is Will has to request the book more than five times. I'm appointing the star ratings, but know Will would probably always give them five stars.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My niece, nephew and I thought this book was pretty good! They liked the story and the pictures, I liked the various fables about how different geological features of the United States were created. Very cute story.

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars -- I have mixed feelings. On one hand, this book boasts great illustrations, a cool concept (dinos in the Wild West), and undeniable kid appeal.

On the other hand, I just can't get behind all of the obvious references to--and celebration of--rodeo and horse "busting" culture.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tall tale about how the West was tamed by a little boy and his T-Rex. It is unrealistic, but a cute and fun story that mixes dinosaurs with the wild west. The pictures are lovely and the text is a little bit longer, which would make it great for a read aloud to older kids.

[Tacie Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

You have to read this one with a thick old west accent. Luckily it was written so well the drawl just falls out of your mouth unintentionally! When I finished reading this one the kids immediately asked me to start over and read it again! This one is definitely on our purchase wish list.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic voice and dialect throughout! Rocky sets about to tame an out of control T-Rex in this fun story! I love that the author said she wrote this book to combine the love of cowboys and dinosaurs that her seven children had. Loved it!

[Morgan]

This is a good story to use with legends and other stories that could be told by the word of mouth. It is about a young boy who is amazing at taming all types of dinosaurs. Especially the infamous T-Rex.

[Amy Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars from me 4 for my son, since it was geared for him that's what I'll rate. He seemed to really enjoy it and thought parts of it was funny. I just sort of felt like the story was a bit, I don't know, flat?

[Tina B · Rating 3 out of 5]

"western, cowboy, dinosaurs, Utah, little long"

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Themes: folktale, dinosaurs, old west, cowboys, legends, boys, taming, america, united states

Uses: storytime tale for older children! Great read aloud.

[John]

Too long for a storytime but a great book!

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too long, too artificial cowboy talk, coupled with complicated Dino names made this book boring though the story has potential.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just read this to my boys, it was super cute! The illustrations were darling and my 6 yr & 3 yr old boys both were captivated.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had so much fun reading this with my boys...of course as you do you must talk in your best western drawl.

[Tonee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geddy loves this book, especially when read with a rip-roaring, over the top western accent! :)

[Leslie]

My three year old son LOVED this book! The pictures were great, and I had fun reading it with a cowboy accent;)

[Janae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told like an ol' fishing story around the fireplace. Cute, but an older child (6-8) might appreciate it more.

[The Book Box]

Mama read this to me last night.