This is a story written from the point of view of a dinosaur called Hypsilophodon. She desperately wants to have babies, but is terrorised by some of the bigger, more aggressive dinosaurs. This means she’s not able to have babies where she currently lives, because the more predatory dinosaurs eat her eggs for dinner. One day when she is fleeing for her life from a Tyrannosaurus Rex, she falls into a deep pool. When she finally emerges, she discovers she is in another world. Instead of being hunted, she is now one of the bigger predators. But she still has a timid mindset, and is initially scared of her new surroundings.However, she soon makes friends with some local swallows. They show her to a local barn, where it is safe enough for her to lay her eggs and for them to hatch in peace. When her thirteen baby dinosaurs are born she has a job to look after them. When Horace, the smallest and slowest, is captured by the local farmer, Henrietta (the most bullish of her babies) comes up with a plan to save him. This they succeed in doing so, but in their getaway, they steal the farmer’s tractor. They inadvertently drive the tractor into the pond again and end up in the original dinosaur country where they first started. But this time the bigger dinosaurs are scared of the tractor and leave Hypsilophodon and her babies in peace.I really liked the nervous central character of Hypsilophodon. Not what you’d immediately expect a dinosaur to be like! But the story really conveyed the emotion of Hypsilophodon and her fight to look after her babies and survive herself.I also liked the relationships she had with the other characters, such as the swallows and her babies. I think children would really enjoy reading this book as well, which I would say is aimed at younger children.It could be read to a whole class as it’s easy to follow and there are some nice illustrations you could show the class as well. It could also be used in 1-2-1 reading to help children’s development with their reading skills.The story is quite easy to follow so you could question children on how well they have understood the story and why they liked it. I would have this book for children aged 6+.
