How I Captured a Dinosaur

by Henry Schwartz, Amy Schwartz (Illustrator)

Liz, who is fascinated by dinosaurs, finds a living Albertosaurus on a camping trip and brings it home to live with her.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Dinosaurs

32 pages, Library Binding

First published February 1, 1989

Reviews

[Juli19 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the story of a boy who got really interested in dinosaurs. First he watched a movie about them and he liked them so much that started doing some research on them. He asked his teacher if any of them were alive but the teacher told him that none was alive but there were some strange sightings off odd looking creatures. The boy got even more absorbed in the topic and he found articles stating that people in Mexico had seen a creature with small arms and long tail. Then he went to Mexico with his parents for his summer vacation. The family drove to the place where the creature was seen and they camp out there. After they settle down on the area the boy went exploring and he left some food for the creature on a rock. A few hours later the creature went to the rock and ate the food. At the end the creature makes friends with the boy and the family takes it with them to the city. They kept the creature and everybody is happy to have a dinosaur with them. I did not like the book, it is too much fantasy I guess but I think that children will enjoy reading it, specially those who are passionate about dinosaurs. It has nice pictures though.

[J. Boo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little girl loves dinosaurs, manipulates her parents into vacationing where she thinks one might be, and succeeds in making friends with an Albertosaurus and bringing it back home as a pet.

I appreciated the child's-eye version of realism. For example, the PTO pays for Albert's food in return for showing him off at school assemblies.

DS #1 (age 6) & DD (age 4): 3/5
Dino-obsessed DS #2 (age 1) 4/5. It's got a dinosaur, which is good for many stars.
Me: 3/5 text, 2/5 illustrations.

Oldest book so far that DS#1 has brought home from the school library. One of the least terrible, too.

[Loretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

We got this at the libary it doesn't look like it is still in print but your library may have a copy. The book features a little girl (with short hair just like Little Miss even!) that loves dinosaurs and finds one on a family trip. it is a simple book but the fact that it features a little girl (which is very rare in dinosaur books) makes it very appealing in this house.


I find it very odd that many of the reviews here refer to the little girl as a boy.


#DinosaursAreForEveryone

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was adorable. Great for 5-6 year olds.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute silly story about a boy and his study of dinosaurs for a school project. This would be every boys dream to find a big ol' friendly dinosaur to bring home as a pet.

[Sharonta Johnson]

This is a great book to use to introduce the subject on dinosaurs. This book could be read at the beginning of the day or right before the lesson.

[Stacia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow - the ending to this story is seriously lacking.