Dinosaur Hideout

Marie St. Onge-Davidson is president of the Essential English Centre in
Ottawa.

Daniel’s dream of making an important palaeontological discovery sends
him combing his parent’s southwestern Saskatchewan farm looking for
dinosaur fossils. His parents, who are on the verge of losing their
farm, are more concerned that he do his daily chores. On the school bus
is a bully who won’t leave him alone. Wanting to get away from all the
stresses, Daniel and his dog, Dactyl, seek refuge in a secret hillside
cave that’s located near the property belonging to Mr. Pederson, a
frightening old neighbour with an enormous dog. While they’re hiding
out, Daniel sees something exceptional—a fossil atypical for the
region. But the excitement proves short-lived: he soon comes to suspect
that Mr. Pederson is trying to prevent him from accessing the new-found
fossil. When a fierce snowstorm drives Daniel and Dactyl to seek shelter
in Mr. Pederson’s house, a friendship develops between them. Daniel
learns that Mr. Pederson is actually a renowned palaeontologist, and
together they find a solution to Daniel’s family’s financial
dilemma.

Dinosaur Hideout is nicely written in the spirit of a good adventure,
with a few humorous moments. Daniel is a likeable protagonist who has
some tough issues to deal with, and the palaeontology theme is an
interesting aspect of the story. A short bibliography and five pages of
vocabulary explanations at the back of the book provide some interesting
resource material about dinosaurs. Recommended.