DINOSAURS AT THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

In 1922 Roy Chapman Andrews, noted dinosaur hunter from the Museum of Natural History, and a team of fossil hunters; set off for Outer Mongolia to discover evidence of human origin in Asia. Traveling the roadless Gobi desert by automobile, provisioned by caravans of camels, the paleontologists discovered not human remains, but dinosaurs and the first dinosaur eggs ever found. In this title, Floca (Five Trucks. 1999, etc.) takes the events and discoveries of the Central Asiatic Expedition and creates an `imagined or fictionalized` story. In doing so, he pioneers a new genre: historical science fiction. His writing, laced with actual events, invented dialogue and thoughts of the scientists, captures the quirky personalities of the hunters. But, it is the meticulously drawn watercolors which spark the imagination while enriching the text. Some of the most dramatic pages show the desert camp at night and the minute caravan winding its way through the vast sweep of the Gobi desert. The last page of text provides a time line and an afterward. Flap copy states that the author has done “extensive research for the book,” however there is no evidence or documentation to that effect. Difficult to place, since it is cataloged in nonfiction, but is filled with fiction, this will appeal to dinosaur fans willing to accept made-up conversations because the story is a compelling one. (Nonfiction. 10-12)