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ARC received at no charge to facilitate review.
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To an eleven-year-old explorer named Martin, not much can top finding a frozen giant egg. Who cares if bullies taunt him and he disappoints his father because of his lack of interest in football? At least he has his egg to care for in his makeshift lab in his barn. As long as he has his outdoor world in Menominee Springs, Wisconsin to explore and such fabulous finds, he is perfectly content. Martin becomes the proud owner of what he thinks is a deformed lizard that hatches from the egg when it finally thaws. He's always wanted a pet but never expected his new lizard turns out to be a real dinosaur. The Tyrannasaurus Rex, Martin names Rufus, quickly attaches to his new owner.
While Martin takes on summer work to feed Rufus, he finds himself in over his head when he can't keep up with the ever growing appetite of his pet dinosaur. Even with the help of his new friend, Audrey, Martin can't keep his secret hidden. Together they race to keep Rufus from ending up as a freak side show in the town's theme park but in doing so, will Martin have to give up the pet he has come to love?
In his debut novel, Fulk keeps the reader laughing while tugging at the heartstrings in his coming of age tale. Any boy who has ever loved his pet won't be able to put the book down until he finds out what happens to Rufus. A delightful take on an age-old dilemma of love and loss.
Publishing Information:
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (June 9, 2015)
ISBN-13: 978-0385744645
Pages: 252 (hardcover)
Ages 9-12
This book can be purchased at the following retailers:
Dinosaur neon in a window of Nature's Own,
a new venue carrying my book in Fort Collins.
The Wichita Eagle on Kansas.com published this review of my book today.
Some books are charming; others are flat-out fun. " How to Raise a Dinosaur," by Natasha Wing and illustrated by Pablo Bernasconi (Running Press, ages 4-8, $16.95), is hilarious!
When looking for a pet, you can consider "mice and horses and cats and dogs," but the author encourages you to seriously consider getting a dinosaur. Of course, there are some important things to consider: like the size of your yard and whether you want a meat-eater or a plant-eater.
Wing writes a zany story. She suggests going to a dinosaur shop to find a good pet, but stresses the need for play toys and proper vet care. Bernasconi's illustrations brightly fill each page and feature flaps and cutouts of what's going on behind the scenes.
Her closing advice: "Above all, give your dinosaur lots of love . . . or it will . . . (STOP! He gave a way the ending, but I won't!)
I've been searching through kidlit and mommy blogs for bloggers who might want to review my new book, How to Raise a Dinosaur. I've found a few, but I noticed that others I wanted to send to do not have a way to contact the blogger, or maybe that's the idea.
So I'm putting out a call to bloggers who review or giveaway children's books, please email me at [email protected] if you want a copy of my book, and/or a blog interview. I'd be happy to oblige. Please share this post with any blogger friends you might know.
I'm so excited about my new book - it's my first lift-the-flap! And the illustrations are wickedly wonderful.
