TYRANNOSAURUS TIME

PLB 0-688-13683-4 Two children uncover a curved, saw-edged fossil and are instantaneously transformed into a living, breathing Tyrannosaurus rex. Transported back 65 million years, they enter the Cretaceous period. The story builds in intensity and tempo, as the carnivorous dinosaur sniffs the wind, seeking food. First it attacks the broad- beaked eaters by the river; then it charges out of a thicket to attack a three-horned dinosaur, ripping out its throat. The children in the tale return to the present, and wonder “Why did the dinosaurs die?” The author’s note contains scientific information about speculative theories on this subject. Rothman’s paintings are as graphic as Ryder’s prose: “You eat and eat, your belly swelling.” Readers are warned that they will learn “what it is like to be a killing machine and one of the largest meat-eating animals to have hunted on land,” and not all children will be ready for the gory conclusion. For readers already familiar with such realistic aspects of the dinosaurs’ lives, this volume is a must- have. (Fiction. 6-9)