Robert Irwin Dinosaur Hunter by Robert Irwin and Jack Wells
Random House Australia, 2013. pbk., ill., 96pp., RRP $A9.95.
The Discovery. ISBN 9781864718454.
Ambush at Cisco Swamp. ISBN 9781864718461
Armoured Defence. ISBN 978174250910
The Dinosaur Feather. ISBN 978174250927
(also available in ebook format)
'Behind him he heard another sigh, which was more like a snort.
Turning around slowly, Robert found himself staring into the face of
another australovenator, a smaller version of the earlier scary one.
Although, admittedly, this one was still pretty scary! It leant down
to give Robert a sniff. This was the first time it had come across a
creature like this! For a dinosaur that might have weighed around
350 kilograms, he was surprisingly light on his feet. Robert hadn't
heard a thing. His heart thumped hard against his ribcage. He was
too scared to breathe. On the one hand, Robert was thrilled - his
favourite dinosaur was so close he could touch him . . . on the
other hand the australovenator was called the Southern Hunter for a
good reason. This was a bloodthirsty carnivorous dinosaur, and even
though this one was young, Robert couldn't help thinking that he
just might get to feel the strength of the dino's jaws firsthand . .
any second now.'
Robert Irwin has been given a trip to Winton in northwest Queensland
for his 9th birthday present. The location is Robert's choice
because he has a fascination with dinosaurs and many new exciting
dinosaur discoveries have been made there recently. It is also home
to the only museum in Australia dedicated to Australian dinosaurs
and part of the attraction was going on a dinosaur dig with a
renowned palaeontologist. It is there he discovers a dinosaur claw
which turns out to have special powers . . . and so begins his first
back-in-time adventure.
When your name is Robert Irwin and your dad is the world famous
Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter it might be hard to come out from
under that shadow. But in this series of books designed to capture
the imagination of the newly-independent reader (or those who adore
dinosaurs and demand a dinosaur read-aloud) Robert has shown that as
well as being his dad's son he also has a passion and that is for
dinosaurs, the ancestors of the crocs which form such a huge part of
his life. They say he's been writing to the world's leading
palaeontologists since most kids start writing to Santa.
Each book features a different dinosaur (not always Australian) and,
in a mixture of great adventure and factual knowledge as Robert
documents his discoveries into his voice recorder, the young reader
is immersed in a topic that continues to fascinate this age group,
long after the dinosaurs have gone. Any teacher librarian will tell
you that the 567.9 section of the library is the most popular,
particularly with young boys. Illustrated with Robert's own drawings
(which are amazing for one so young), this is a series which has
huge potential to not only hook those up-and-coming readers but also
entice those not quite there yet to keep practising so they can read
them for themselves.
Each book has a QR code which unlocks a special message from Robert
and there will soon be a website at http://www.dinosaurhunter.com.au
You don't really need much more than that really.
This is a series that will find its way to Mr 6's shelf, another
Robert Irwin in the making . . .
Barbara Braxton