And the racist portrayal of an evil fossil collector's female companion is inexcusable in such an otherwise well written story. It's a shame that the other characters in this book, including the grandchildren, aren't as well defined as Julia. Although this book has less historical basis than Lasky's The Bone Wars (Morrow, 1988), the characterization of the grandmother makes the story more believable and more memorable. Readers will be drawn into Julia's story, just as her grandchildren are, until her memories become more involving than modern-day surroundings. Through their grandmother's description of her rugged prairie childhood, her brother's untimely death, and the discovery of the dinosaur fossil, Ellie and Steve relive their grandmother's childhood adventures. But even more important to Julia than seeing the dinosaur is sharing her memories of the discovery and excavation with her grandchildren. She has something important to show them in the Natural History Museum is the dinosaur she and her brother discovered on their farm in Nebraska when they were young. Grade 5-8- When she's 80 years old, Julia Summerwaithe decides to visit her grandchildren, Ellie and Stevie, in New York City, for the first time.
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