Dinosaur Boy

December 8, 2014
A boy-dinosaur hybrid, a girl who’s part alien, and a new principal’s plot to sell misbehaving students to a pet store on Jupiter sound like the ingredients for an intergalactic romp. Yet credible characters and real-life issues like bullying, appreciating differences, and being true to oneself keep Oakes’s (The Veil) series kickoff grounded. The summer before fifth grade, Sawyer sprouts bony plates and a spiky tail. He isn’t thrilled, but neither is he surprised: “After all, my grandfather had been part stegosaurus,” he explains. “And everybody knows that dinosaur skips a generation.” The thought of starting school with reptilian appendages (his mother sticks tennis balls on his tail spikes to prevent injuries to others) fills Sawyer with dread, and with good reason: class meanie Allan and others torment Sawyer mercilessly. The premise is inherently hyperbolic, but Oakes draws on everything from the dubiousness of zero-tolerance bullying policies (especially when they’re being used to ship students to Jupiter) to the importance of tolerance and the injustice of discrimination to create a story with unexpected depth. Ages 9–12. Agent: Sarah LaPolla, Bradford Literary Agency.

November 15, 2014
Just getting to his seat in fifth grade becomes an ordeal for Sawyer after he develops the tail and back plates of a stegosaurus over the summer.Not that it's a surprise, since his family is descended from one of a number of victims of a lab accident years ago that mixed human with dinosaur DNA. But even with tennis balls covering the spikes so he doesn't inadvertently impale anyone, accidents keep happening. Not to mention relentless bullying. In a series debut with more twists than a strand of DNA, Oakes not only presents her frustrated dino-lad with a physical challenge, but a moral one too: Though it seems that the new principal is ruthlessly culling Sawyer's multiple bullies to enforce a zero-tolerance policy, in fact she's collecting them to sell on the interplanetary pet market. Should he even try to rescue them? (To his credit, Sawyer doesn't hesitate to do the right thing.) Ultimately, and with real help from a pair of allies that includes an odd new classmate who's not entirely human either, he stages a dramatic rescue, unmasks (literally) the kidnapper and comes to terms with his differences. Though practically mirroring Bob Balaban's Boy or Beast (illustrated by Andy Rash, 2012) in premise and even parts of the plot, it's nevertheless good fun. An entertaining barrel ride past sheaves of middle-grade themes from bullying to racial identity. (Science fiction. 10-12)

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February 1, 2015

Gr 3-6-A group of scientists conduct an experiment that goes terribly wrong, introducing dinosaur genes into their own DNA, passing it down to their own grandchildren. Over the summer, Sawyer begins to grow plates out of his back and a tail like a stegosaurus. He must face returning to school with his new appearance, enduring the taunts of other children. The new principal sticks up for Sawyer and expels the students who poke fun. But something's wrong. Sawyer and his friends begin to wonder what happened to these expelled students; they seem to have disappeared. Their investigation turns up some wild discoveries-could their principal be an alien? Are the students alive? This story blends themes about fitting in, making friends, and tackling challenges. Oakes emphasizes the effects of bullying and peer pressure. There are also plenty of fun science and sci-fi ideas woven throughout. The trim size and plot-driven pacing make this an ideal recommendation for reluctant readers. VERDICT A fun and funny read with layers of deeper issues.-Cynde Suite, Bartow County Library System, Adairsville, GA

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