Description
DinosOz Adventures Book 1 The Tunnel. Join best friends, Simone and James as they discover the exciting world of Australian dinosaurs.
Enter the incredible world of Australian dinosaurs
James and Simone gasped, and then both held their hands over their mouths at the same time. There were half a dozen nests, all with eggs in them. The nests were on a ledge outcropping on the side of the hill. They were actually only about halfway down the hill before they came to a stop on this ledge. These eggs had not hatched yet, and the parents were sure to be nearby. Just as she had this thought, as she stood behind a rock, Simone saw a large raptor-like dinosaur head rising up to stare straight at them. She felt like it was staring straight at her, right through her! In the back of her mind, a little voice told her these were Australovenators, the same type of dinosaur as Mondo. This adult was staring at her hungrily and did not look happy at the intruders in her nesting area. It sniffed the air a few times.
James slowly took hold of the back of Simone’s arm to pull her gently backwards, and away from the eggs. All thought of being quiet and stealthy vanished in an instant when the Australovenator in front of them let out an angry, bellowing roar! Simone jumped in the air from fright! Without a word between the two friends, they both turned and started running as fast as their legs would carry them. They had not gone all the way to the bottom after all. They were running along a ledge along the side of the hill they had just slid down. It was not fast enough. Simone chanced a look over her shoulder and she saw the huge animal closing the distance with every step! They were not going to make it. Simone’s mind took this moment to remind her of something she had heard long ago, from her uncle who was a hunter. “When a bear is chasing you, you don’t have to outrun the bear. You just have to outrun the guy next to you.” Not helpful, she thought, as she was trailing James, and would surely be the first one eaten, seconds from now. As they ran, Simone started to hear a rumbling sound, coming from above. At first, she thought it was just the thundering footsteps of the angry parent, at least Simone thought it was a mother, but that would have to wait for later to think more about that. If there was a later.
DinosOz Adventures Book 1 The Tunnel…continues
The rumbling sound was getting louder and felt like it was coming from above her, not behind her, so she quickly glanced up. Just as she was thinking her day couldn’t get any worse, she saw a small landslide had been started by their earlier slide down the hill and was just now gathering speed and debris as it came hurtling down the hill. Simone was not quite sure what would kill her first, the angry predator, or the angry mountain. So, she just kept running. She saw James had looked back a couple of times, probably to make sure she was still following. She knew he had seen the mudslide heading their way as well. With no other options, they kept running. Simone could practically feel the hot smelly breath of the Australovenator on her neck, at the same time she could feel the first pebbles and stones hitting her. The dinosaur was huge and very fast, and Simone knew this was the end. It must have been two metres high and about six meters long. It was running on two powerful legs and was showing its short arms were armed with incredible sharp claws and the half-open mouth was showing multiple scary sharp teeth. She closed her eyes but kept running. She did not want to see what was about to happen, as she imagined the dinosaur’s teeth closing in over her head and its claws digging in her skin.
Enjoy your DinosOz Adventures Book 1, The Tunnel
Always in stock. “Printed On Demand” in Australia by Intertype
Sarah Roberts –
A fantastic story! It has everything you could want in an adventure story: excitement, suspense, friendship and of course dinosaurs! The dinosaurs are excellently described, and the fun facts and links to websites at the back of the book are an added bonus to learn more about the dinosaurs i was reading about.
Roger Epworth (verified owner) –
This is a good read! Plenty of adventure and excitement from the lost world of the Australian Cretaceous. It’s always good to see books like these that feature Australian dinosaurs, our kids need to learn more about them!
Mike Cleeland (verified owner) –
Great book, lots of highlights, one adventure after another and the ending took me completely by surprise! Highly recommended for dinosaur enthusiasts of all ages.
Marc Roberts –
My daughter loved this book, I helped her read it and can’t wait for me to buy her the next one.
Loved the website as well especially the activities
Nicolas Herridge –
This book is such a great read! It has plenty of exciting adventures and it is very well written. There is fiction mixed with real science facts. I loved the characters of Simone and Mondo and how they get close to one another. I also loved the fun facts about Australian dinosaurs.
Can’t wait to see what happens in the next book.
Tamsin Whaley (verified owner) –
Teenagers Simone and James join the Dinosaur Dreaming ‘dig’ on the Otway coast of Victoria, Australia, looking for fossilised dinosaur bones with a team of paleontologists. Exploring the cave where the bone-hunt is going on, Simone and James find a way back to 105 million years ago, when what we call ‘Victoria’ was part of a vast river valley between Australia and Antarctica, and those continents had not yet separated. Simona and James must survive all that the Cretaceous period can throw at them if they are to protect their baby dinosaur friend, and make it home to the modern world.
The Tunnel blends non-fiction with fantasy and action-adventure: the Dinosaur Dreaming digs really happened at Dinosaur Cove in the Otways, and the creatures and landscapes that Simone and James encounter are based on the latest knowledge of those ancient environments (yes, the dinosaurs have feathers).
Author Simonetta Grippi has been an educator for 20 years and has herself made significant finds of dinosaur bones and dinosaur tracks. When Simone and James are pushing their muddy way through fern forests, slapping giant mosquitoes, and dodging Pteranodons patrolling the skies overhead, you can trust that Simonetta knows what she is talking about. Whether or not the newly-hatched Australovenator would really think Simone is his mum is up to you…
The Tunnel is a chapter book for kids of perhaps 7 – 12, expanding on the larger-format picture book version for little kids, DinosOz Friends, which is full of Ginevra Grippi’s glowing illustrations of James and Simone climbing, star-gazing, paddling, leaping, and running for their lives!
The Tunnel gives a nod to the etiquette around going onto Country that is not your own, through the character Marengo, James’ grandmother, who is a First Nations woman, and through the mention of the all-important permit and museum credentials for the fossil dig. At the end of the book is a glossary and QR codes for further information about the dinosaurs mentioned, and links to the author’s own highly-entertaining website, DinosOz.
Kids reading The Tunnel will come away with a new view of ancient Australia, an awareness of the unique fossils found here, and a good idea of how fossils are retrieved from the field: with hard, dirty work, a good afternoon tea, and excitement and love on the part of the dinosaur enthusiasts carefully wielding the hammers.