Daniel's Dinosaurs: A True Story of Discovery Book

Eight-year-old Daniel and 11-year-old Mark never expected a day spent inner-tubing at Flatbed Creek to turn into one of the most exciting dinosaur finds in the past 20 years. But that's exactly what happened when they stumbled upon impressions in the creek's shore that looked a lot like dinosaur footprints. After a local paleontologist confirmed the boys' discovery, footprint expert Rich McCrea and world-renowned paleontologist Philip Currie arrived, anxious to examine the prints. Daniel's Dinosaurs follows Daniel's real-life adventure story, from working beside the scientists as they survey and measure the trackway to helping uncover even more significant finds, including an entire dinosaur bone bed.

Mary Loftus - Children's Literature

A true story about a lucky dinosaur-loving boy who finds fossils and dinosaur tracks near a favorite family picnic spot. Not until page 19 does the reader learn that this spot is in British Columbia. The organization, some awkward sentences and style issues break up the story, but it is still an exciting adventure for Daniel. His discovery leads to visits by paleontologists, including Dr. Philip Currie of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology. Daniel gets the opportunity to observe and participate in the process of making molds of footprints and searching for fossils and dinosaur bones. Illustrations of dinosaurs show the types of dinosaurs that left the tracks Daniel discovered, and other dinosaur facts are included at the end of the book. An author's note explains more about the location of the find, along with the way the region has changed since Daniel's discovery. A forward by Currie states the real draw of the story: what child fascinated by dinosaurs would not want to discover tracks on his or her own? Even Currie is envious of Daniel. 2004, Maple Tree Press, Ages 8 to 12.