Reviewed by Michelle Robertson for Readers' Favorite

Dinosaur George and the Paleonauts: Episode One: Raptor Island by George Blasing and Mark Miller is an exhilarating and adventurous short story, introducing young readers to the concept of time travel, paleontology, and prehistoric animals and dinosaurs. Move over Jurassic Park; here comes Dinosaur George and the Paleonauts to explore the prehistoric period with ultra-modern equipment and vehicles. These are not your normal paleontologist and scientist; oh no, they have created a force field enabling them to enter into any era or time period they desire to explore.

When George's uncle becomes lost in one of the time periods, George finds himself, at 18 years old, being the first human to ever explore a dinosaur era, see a dinosaur, and have the experience of a lifetime, all while trying to find his uncle. Authors George Blasing and Mark Miller use elaborate detail in describing the equipment used, the landscape, and the dinosaurs themselves, thus allowing readers to create a visual image of what they are reading. For example: reading through the chapters, one can understand and picture exactly what a raptor's physical appearance might have been like, the different kinds, its behavior, its diet, and where it might have lived.

Children love to read and learn about extinct creatures, and thus a book about these prehistoric giants that once roamed the same world we inhabit now is a great educational, fun book for both parents and teachers to read to children or for children to read to themselves.