Dinotopia: First Flight

Dinotopia, First Flight
20th Anniversary Edition  James Gurney Dinotopia Web connection
ISBN: 9781606600573

Net Galley Description: 
 "Critics have gushed over Gurney's phantasmagorical creation, likening him to such venerated literary fantasists as Jules Verne, Wells, and J. R. R. Tolkien." — People MagazineJames Gurney's illustrated Dinotopia series has been an imaginative touchstone for a generation of readers of all ages. This new definitive edition of Dinotopia: First Flight brings together an extensive collection of James Gurney's stories, artwork, and story notes from the ancient origins of the land where humans and dinosaurs coexist. That peaceful world was forged on the flames of conflict in a dramatic Age of Heroes. First Flight tells a timeless tale of partnership and courage, where unlikely heroes cooperate to overcome the greatest challenge yet to face Dinotopia.
This lavishly produced volume begins with an unabridged republication of James Gurney's influential 1999 story about the adventures of Gideon Altaire. Gideon escapes from his post as a drone pilot, befriends a small band of animal characters, and becomes the first human to fly on the back of a giant pterosaur known as a skybax. Together they challenge a bold attempt by the rogue leaders of Poseidos to overturn the tenuous balance between humans and dinosaurs.
The second half of the book includes a bonus of over 45 new images, including never-before-published storyboards, concept sketches, and production paintings, plus new characters, stories, and backstory notes from James Gurney's creative archives. The supplement begins with a cinematic treatment about a character named Blake Terrapin, who leads the resistance on the ground while Gideon takes to the air.　
Together, the elements of this richly imagined volume combine to conjure a richly textured world, and will serve as an exciting companion volume to Gurney's other Dinotopia books.

MrsK's Thoughts:
 It was such a delight to revisit Dinotopia on my Kindle during this brief time away from the Library.  Through the years, many of my students, family, and friends have discovered the world of Dinotopia.  The story line creates such a vivid journey.  Every character is crafted with such personality.  The word choice is so well crafted that you can run, soar, and despair with each dinosaur, rider, or partner.  The illustrations enhances the pleasure of the journey.  As a reader I can "step" into the story and journey within this amazing world with all my senses satisfied. 
A journey within the covers of  First Flight will only tempt you... you will find yourself being called back again, and again.  We will not want to leave these quests and challenges.  You will find yourself drifting back to all of these characters, pondering what are they doing while you are away.  Once one adventure is finished, you will want to revisit through the illustrated windows.... and that journey will activate a imagined quest of your own.  You will need plenty of time... traveling within Dinotopia is not a quick visit!
Unfortunately, I was extremely frustrated with this ebook visit... I need to hold Dinotopia in my hands... I must have the illustrations as large as possible in order for exploration... I desire the experience and security of the book waiting for me....

Amazing read... Is on my shelf waiting for me to return!

 
Enjoyable reading for everyone

"I received this ebook for free from Net Galley for this review."

FEED YOUR READERS

Papercutz Newest Graphic Novels

As the rains began to pour down once more, my grandsons and I visited the latest preview graphic novels.  So much fun!  I prefer the actual novels, but there is always something delightful about reading a comic layout/graphic novel.  Check these out... they are worth the moments of discover, the memories that comes with sharing something fun, and the intriguing allurement to the amazing graphics.

  Thea is Geronimo's sister and she teaches journalism at Mouseford Academy.  Of course, she is also a Rodent's Gazette correspondent for all things fashion and in the know.  The school year is just beginning and the five "Thea Sisters," are all excited about the latest fashions, the bling, the global news, the dates, and the Mouseford Big Dance.  With the De Vissen's arrival all things are in a "cyclone" of buzz.  Off shore, the mysterious Orca is causing it's own stir.  While the dance is underway..... well you are going to read it to find out more... aren't you?

 

OK... they're back, and they are ready for a new audience.  My youngest son was a MMPR fan and it was great letting my oldest grandson enjoy this graphic connection.
 
MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #1: Rita Repulsa's Attitude Adjustment
When an ancient stone idol comes to life and starts blasting everything in its path with a morphing ray, it looks like the world is in pretty deep trouble; but it’s nothing compared to the havoc unleashed when Rita Repulsa gets her hands on it! The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers join the fray, but this new baddie has extra muscle from Squatt and the Putty Patrol. If the team doesn’t get a little help of their own from a trusted friend, this latest mission may be their last!

In 1993, the Power Rangers burst on the scene in an explosion of colorful combat, bizarre monsters, incredible robot battles, and Megazord-sized fun, spawning a global phenomenon and an ever-expanding storytelling universe. Papercutz is proud to present the long-awaited continuing adventures of the team that started it all!
6" x 9", 64pp full-color paperback, $7.99
ISBN 9781597076968 | Diamond MAR141285
6" x 9", 64pp full-color hardcover, $12.99
ISBN 9781597076975 | Diamond MAR141286

The first pages are styled as a computerized bio folder for each of PR.  Then the adventure begins... 

Limbo is still trying to get all the dudes and dudettes caught up to the newest lingo, which is the 1993 quality connection.  These six martial artists are quick changers, full of wisdom and desire to make even the worst see what's right. So as they are keeping their home area running with kindness... 

A discovery comes up out of the sands....  

"A terrifying cross between monster and robot, the assembled giant shakes
free from the dust of the ages and rises to his full fearsome height!"

 http://www.papercutz.com/blog-2/ 

 

GERONIMO STILTON #14: "The First Mouse on the Moon"

It's 1969, and the eyes of the whole world are focused on the moon, where the Apollo 11 mission is about to make one giant leap for mousekind. But the time-traveling Pirate Cats are on the scene and they want to sabotage this historic moment with their most audacious and harebrained plan ever. To stop them, Geronimo and his cousin Trap will have to get to the moon first. Fasten your seat belts: a rat-tastic space race is underway!

6.5" x 9", 56pp full-color paper over board, $9.99
ISBN: 978-1-59707-731-6 

This is the best of all the Geronimo's.... or least for my youngest grandson it was.  I prefer the fantasy novel series, so much to look at.  But for my grandson the action packed graphics is way cooler!  Where ever you are headed this summer, add either form of Geronimo to your bag and you will have an adventurous summer filled with outstanding discussion points of interest....

 http://www.papercutz.com/blog-2/ 

 
Enjoyable reading for everyone

Classics Ilustrated: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

        Classics Illustrated #19: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Tom Sawyer is a young orphan living with his half brother Sid at their Aunt Polly’s house. A bad apple in school, he resists all efforts at correction, except when it comes to courting the lovely Becky Thatcher. Along with his buddy Huck Finn, Tom fools around, plays practical jokes and causes trouble—until the day when the two witness a murder. 
The greatest American novel comes gets the CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED treatment in this haunting, vibrant adaptation!
6.5" x 9", 56pp full-color paper over board, $9.99
ISBN: 978-1-59707-723-1

 

This was such a fun adventure.  Being a book reviewer, I am in the process of learning so many new avenues for readers.  My grandsons and I took some time to read this classic with our learning iPad.  The illustrations animate Tom and Huck so well.  Aunt Polly's characterization is so comfortable.

Although a graphic novel looses some of the depth and detail of the text.  The graphics sculpts a depth to the characters that helps every reader to make literary connections.  This story has a chance for a second read... once the door has been opened, Mark Twain's adventures can be revisited by a generation of "Comic-Con" readers.

If the novel seems slow for you/your reader, try the illustrated classics.  So many readers need to see the images in order to gain the writer's perspective.  This classic re-telling brings Tom's spunky-adventurous spirit to life, the characterization through the amusing graphics captures the essence of Tom Sawyer and his tale.

This is a great summertime read for everyone.....

Enjoyable read

http://www.papercutz.com/blog-2/

The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn

By Lori Benton

  

"Forsaking security and an arranged marriage, Tamsen enlists frontiersman Jesse Bird to guide her to the Watauga settlement in western North Carolina....."

In September of 1787 Tamsen's journey begins when her mother informs her, "You must marry, Tamsen and soon. Resign yourself to it being a man of Mr. Parrish's choosing. Whatever burdens it may entail your stepfather means to give you a comfortable life."

Tamsen agrees to dine with Mr. Kincaid.  Looking stunning in her newly crafted dress, she arrives at the tavern with fear gripping her heart.  Once she steps in to the establishment Tamsen's "internal screaming ceases," Not an ogre, after all."  That is until their evening meal is interrupted by one of Mr. Kincaid's slave.  During those brief moments of conversation, Tamsen realizes that she can't go on pretending any longer. Out of concern for Mr. Kincaid's slave, Tamsen voices disapproval.  Mr. Kincaid points out to her that the conversation was not of her concern, "Yet I am--and you should be... The people whose lives and bodies you own, those whose burden it is to see to your every need, they are your responsibility to protect.."

And with that, Tamsen leaves the tavern and so begins her attempts for freedom.  Given a failed attempt in the stable, Tamsen finds herself looking up at Ambrose Kincaid... "Well, now. I've faced down charging bears and starving wolves and murdering Chickamaugas. Reckon the pique of a pretty miss ain't like to daunt me."  What would it take to get away?

Tamsen never thought that it would be her mother that opens the path to freedom.  And yet, when Mr. Parrish shouts, "You are mine, and you will do as you are bid...." Tamsen's world collides with fear and death.  As her mother lays sprawled on the hearth, with her blood spilling out of her, Tamsen is told to get herself decent for another meeting with Mr. Kincaid.  "Tamsen... get the box...."  

Running for help from Sim out in the stable, her fear materializes in a tall form coming at her.... "Easy there."  Jesse Bird helps her to check on her mother, helps her find a place to hide and provides the escape needed.  Their journey is not an easy overland experience.  When Jesse meets up with Cade he learns that there is a search party for Tamsen, that Mr. Parrish claimed that his wife was murdered by someone who abducted his daughter, and that Jesse Bird would be the one to hang.

 With so much to loose, with no one to support the truth, they agree to the decision that, "for better or for worse" they would head for Jonesborough to get married.  Yet, as they pull into the town they had no idea that an uprising was about to take place right before their vows would be completed.  On the run again Tamsen and Jesse discover that wedding vows are not something to take lightly...   

Tasmen and Jesse's peace and joy grows stronger with each day, and yet it remains shadowed by the every increasing threat from Mr. Parrish and Mr. Kincaid.  Beautiful images of their overland journey allows the seasons to unfold as Tasmen is faced with leaps of faith, learning to rely on scripture for strength, and allowing Jesse's strength in God provide safety for her and those she has begun to love and cherish.

"He wasn't easy about the latest turn the hunt for Miss Littlejohn had taken or that Kincaid knew nothing about it...."  When two or more are in agreement, there is a promise of hope.  With joy, the story unfolds with determined vows, "Till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance. He'd been unable to stem the tears, seeing his joy reflected in her weary, happy eyes. And thereto I plight thee my troth."  Vows that would lead them to a renewal, a retreat for the winter within the safety of a Cherokee village.  That blessing of a moment in time to be strengthened and free would prove to be the seed of strength for the final moments leading to the end of Tasmen's pursuit.  "Whatever name Jesse chose, he was hers, and she his, and what God had joined together, no man---kin or otherwise---would ever put asunder."

 
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More Info

Read Chapter One

Lori Benton was raised east of the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by early American and family history going back three hundred years. Her novels transport readers to the 18th century, where she brings to life the Colonial and early Federal periods of American history, creating a melting pot of characters drawn from both sides of a turbulent and shifting frontier, brought together in the bonds of God's transforming grace. When she isn’t writing, Lori enjoys exploring beautiful Oregon with her husband. For more information about Lori Benton: Author Bio

"I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review."



39 Clues

Rick Riordan #1

Our Green Mt. Book Club just fininshed reading, The Maze of Bones.  It was such a great "fun" read that many of us are reading the series before the end of the school year.

When Amy (14) and Dan (12) arrive at Cahill Manor for their grandmother's funeral, they had no clue that they would become international sleuths on a quest.... especially not up against other relatives.

Dan and Amy had no way of knowing that their grandmother had changed her will five minutes before she died. They wouldn't know that she was depending on them to succeed. Their grandmother told her lawyer,

"They are our only chance.....five hundred years of work would have been for nothing... everything collaspses...

The family, the world... all of it."

Once the family had attended the funeral for Grace Cahill, certain family members were invited to the reading of her will. Mr. McIntyre cleared his throat and read, "You have been chosen as the most likely to succeed in the greatest, most perilous undertaking of all time - a quest of vital importance to the Cahill family and the world at large." With that, Mr. McIntyre turned on the pre-recorded video of Grace's instructions. "If you accept, you shall be given the first of 39 clues. These clues will lead you to a secret.... which will make you the most powerful, influential human beings on the plantet...." The only catch was that they had to give up their portion of the inheriatance in order to participate.

Everyone who returned their checks,  worth one million dollars, was given the first clue....

RESOLUTION:

The fine print ot guess,

Seek out Richard S....

Dan and Amy begin their journey under the mansion.  Their discovery of a tattered book, Poor Richard's Almanac, leads them to the discovery of a family descendant and a fire!  I did not enjoy this part, no old mansion or old library should ever be burned....

Escaping the fire is the first of their life-threatening adventures.  They must get to Washington DC before anyone else...

Dan and Amy are quite the siblings, they fight... they get mad... they can only succeed if they are willing to cooperate.  Their sleuthing will lead you to France and more insights into historical facts about Richard S.

   

Really Liked it  

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