Dino Egg by Charlie James

Dino Egg by Charlie James
Buy Dino Egg by Charlie James at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: A romp of a book as Ned's breakfast egg hatches into a dinosaur. It's not great literature but it is hilariously funny and will appeal to the late primary school child. Definitely recommended.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 224	Date: July 2008
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN: 978-0747592266
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It was a rather odd-looking egg – the usual creamy colour but with a pink kiss mark on one side – but what was oddest of all was that when Ned tapped on the shell to break into his boiled egg, it tapped back. That wasn't all though. The shell changed colour and when it finally broke out crawled a baby dinosaur, complete with a pink body with purple spots, a whip-like tail and a dreadful smell. The sensible thing would have been to tell Mum and Dad but Ned's brother Bill had other ideas and when she finds out what is going on, big sister Stacey joins in too.

If you're looking for a fun read then look no further – this book is a romp from page one. There's absolutely nothing subtle about it. The baddies are real baddies from the conscienceless Amor Ron who wants to use Ned to promote his fruit and vegetable business and the school bully who's determined to get his hands on Lucky the dinosaur and Ned too if he possibly can. The Finn family wander from mishap to chaos with Finn senior spouting the most terrible fish puns along the way. You'll love the 'surfer dude' headmaster and well, I quite fell for the charms of Lucky the Dinosaur.

It's not a worthy book but there is quite a lot of information packed in there. Footnotes will introduce the reader to the pronunciation of various species of dinosaur and there's quite a lot of information on the various species but it's delivered with a very light and funny touch. There's advice on how to deal with bullies and even a hint that it's not always easy to follow, but at the end of the day everyone gets their just reward or comeuppance.

It's very easy reading but never condescends to the young reader. Some of the vocabulary is challenging but there's often help in the hilarious line drawings which are scattered throughout the book. It's not great literature. It's not an enduring classic but it is great fun and even a reluctant reader is going to be drawn into the story and the fun. Go on – you know you want to buy it…

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.

If you'd like more factual information about dinosaurs we can recommend If Dinosaurs Were Alive Today by Dougal Dixon. For a fun adventure you might like to see our review of Barnaby Grimes: Legion of the Dead by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Dino Egg by Charlie James at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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