Dumpsters and Dinosaurs

by Lois D Brown

[sstaley]

Dumpsters & Dinosaurs is a perfect read for the 8-12 year old crowd. It is full of excitement, mystery and magic. The main character is Steven, a new kid who lives in Vernal, Utah whose family just moved there from Idaho.

There is much in this story for kids to relate to; bullies in the school, not always having enough money to buy the clothes you want, and having a hard time making friends and finding his place in the new town.

His family is short on money, so the whole family works together cleaning buildings to make money to live on. One of the buildings they clean is the field house in Vernal. The museum is where all of the mystery starts taking place. Steven finds all sorts of things, a body in a dumpster(thankfully it's still alive), a mysterious box and other things. Soon, Steven is way too involved but luckily finds friends: a boy at school and a home-schooled girl from the public library, odd like him, that help him solve the mystery of what's been going on at the field house.

Kids in the 8-12 year range will love to read this short 180 page book. They will understand the humor and the narration is written in easily understood words. Lois Brown perfectly caught the characterization of a 12 year old boy. This book is fun and will be enjoyed by both boys and girls.