The characters in books written by Harriet Adams make dumb statements. On page 1, the Danas are told that they are in "dinosaur country." Aunt Harriet asks, "Do you mean those mammoth prehistoric reptiles lived here?" Seriously? I guess Harriet Adams thought that her readers needed an explanation of what dinosaurs were. Trust me, Harriet, all children know about dinosaurs.
On page 1, the theory about dinosaurs having been killed by glaciers is mentioned. On page 82, the theory about volcanic ash causing the extinction is mentioned. I especially recall the volcanic ash theory from my childhood. Now, the accepted theory is that the mass extinction was caused by a large asteroid that hit the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico.
On pages 21 and 22, Mr. Strong wants the girls to see an "interesting cave." Jean asks, "You mean the formation is interesting?" Say what?! Does it matter why? If someone wants to show me an "interesting cave," I'm going with it, no questions asked! Mr. Strong replies, "No, it's what is inside." More stupid dialogue follows.
On page 45, Jean digs a hole in a cave and finds an Indian headdress. Jean proceeds to place the headdress on her head and dance around. This is so wrong and for several reasons. I am reminded of a similar scene involving a skeleton in Nancy Drew #52, The Secret of the Forgotten City. Harriet Adams wrote that book as well.
On page 46, Louise digs up a pair of moccasins. These girls are so lucky when it comes to finding artifacts.
On page 76, the Danas tumble down a hill in a landslide of rocks and dirt caused by an explosion. Of course, they are just fine.
On page 79, the Danas find a dinosaur's backbone. These girls make archaeology look easy!
On page 101, Jean sits on the back of a sheep and rides it as it runs.
On pages 106 through 108, the girls are menaced by a mountain lion. Mr. Strong kills it for them.
This book is good to very good. It is also quite stupid.
2 comments:
I wrote the following in response to a comment on my Facebook page. It is worth repeating here in reference to how I closed the review.
"I can be entertained by a book that is stupid. The two are not mutually exclusive."
Yes!
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