Guest Blog: 4 Books For Dinosaur Fans by Derek Born

There’s something truly engaging about books with dinosaurs. Even when paleontologists keep giving us more information from their findings, it’s always fun to guess at what they looked like beyond the bones. Skin color, what they sounded like, their true nature, we could speculate for millions of years!

It’s even more fun when authors put dinosaurs in their books! Not only do we get to see how the author perceives these primeval creatures, but we get to feel like we’re walking alongside them, hearing their cries, feeling their scaley skin (or feathered, but again, real life research is still working on that!)

If you’re looking for dinosaur books that are great for young ages up to the Young Adult range, here’s a list of books and series they can sink their teeth into! Human teeth, not dinosaur teeth…

The “Dinotopia” Series by James Gurney (and many other authors)

This is a series that’s dear to my heart, and began my love of dinosaurs in literature. It’s also part of the inspiration for my own work, Dino-Rift, but more on that later!

Synopsis:

An undiscovered island where a race of mystical humans co-exists in harmony with intelligent dinosaurs. A tale of high adventure and discovery, Dinotopia presents a shipwrecked visitor's glimpse into an imagined social order, a culture, and even a cooperative interspecies technology that will satisfy lovers of fantasy and science fiction of all persuasions.

Note: There are 22 books in the entire series, 4 main novels with 18 following books, which means tons of dinosaur fun!

Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker

This book is quite unique, as it’s told from the perspective of an actual raptor!

Synopsis:

The time is 120 million years ago, the place is the plains of prehistoric Utah, and the eyes belong to an unforgettable heroine.  Her name is Raptor Red, and she is a female Raptor dinosaur.Painting a rich and colorful picture of a lush prehistoric world, leading paleontologist Robert T. Bakker tells his story from within Raptor Red's extraordinary mind, dramatizing his revolutionary theories in this exciting tale.  From a tragic loss to the fierce struggle for survival to a daring migration to the Pacific Ocean to escape a deadly new predator, Raptor Red combines fact an fiction to capture for the first time the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of the most magnificent, enigmatic creatures ever to walk the face of the earth.

The Loch Ness Files by Derek Borne

This novella combines superhero spies with prehistoric creatures!

Synopsis:

Your Mission:Grab your passport to reunite with the Ultimate Agent and Specialist in Scotland, where they follow a lead on a nefarious organization.The Target – The Loch Ness MonsterFirst Claimed Sighting: May 2, 1933Valid or Myth Status: UnconfirmedMission Data – ConfidentialAs the Ultimate Agency gains deeper intel on Helios, they realize some of their secrets are more monstrous than they had ever imagined. Up to this day, eyewitness accounts of “Nessie” continue to grow, yet remain unsubstantiated. Some sonar readings of the Lochs entertain hope. Will the Scottish legend be debunked? Perhaps only time will tell. 

Dino-Rift by Derek Borne

What more can I say about my own book than what’s already in the synopsis?

The Rift.

A gateway to a prehistoric world.

For years, SauraCorps has kept its existence confidential while touting themselves as a run-of-the-mill dinosaur museum.

For two Utah teens, Kamren and Vivienne, a care-free night to themselves quickly turns into a daunting trek through an exotic, unfamiliar time.

Not only do they stumble upon SauraCorps’ nefarious agenda, they also encounter major discrepancies concerning the past that would rewrite history books as we know them.

Kam and Viv’s reliance on each other through the primeval environment also tests their friendship in unexpected ways.

Will they survive and make it home…together?Note: Dino-Rift is set in the same universe as Derek Borne's "The Ultimate Agent" series.