My Dinosaur Adventure

was created especially for

Michael Jeremy Smith
at the age of 8


with love from
Mom and Dad
December 25, 2002

 Mike Smith of Atlanta had a special dream. His favorite books to read from the library were always those about dinosaurs, but he wanted to learn a lot more about them. As he was thinking about this, a beautiful white unicorn appeared at his bedroom window.

 To his surprise, the unicorn spoke, "Mike, I want to take you to the Land of the Dinosaurs. Can you come with me?"
Mike said, "Wow! I would love to go, but first I must ask permission and leave a note for Larry, Wayne and Bob." Moments later, the unicorn whisked him back in time to the Land of the Dinosaurs.

 When Mike and the unicorn arrived at the shore of the beautiful lake, an apotosaurus (uh-pat-o-SORE-us) greeted them. He was longer than a big school bus.
"What's your name?" asked Mike.
"I don't have one," answered the plant-eating dinosaur sadly. "No one has ever named any of us."
Mike thought for a while and then said, "I will call you Stretch."

 "Look at that mountain over there!" shouted Mike, pointing off into the distance. "Is it on fire?" he asked.
"Oh no, that's just a volcano," replied the unicorn. "Look all around you. The Land of the Dinosaurs is filled with many, many volcanoes, swamps and fern jungles."
Mike added, "It's also very hot!"

 While exploring, they met a stegosaurus (steg-uh-SORE-us). "He sure does have a lot of sharp points on his back," whispered Mike.
"Those are called plates," said the unicorn. "A stegosaurus uses them for protection. They also trap heat from the sun to help keep them warm."
Mike told the stegosaurus, "A great name for you would be Spike."

 Next, Mike and the unicorn entered a dense, humid forest where they found giant ferns and many reptiles of all sizes and shapes. While there, they heard a strange, snapping sound in the distance and cautiously crept closer to investigate. After all, Mike had wanted to come here to learn as much as he could about dinosaurs!

 Not far away, they met an allosaurus (al-us-SORE-us). She had large teeth and stood on powerful, hind legs. A huge tail helped her to stand up.
"So you are the one who is making all that noise," said Mike. "I shall name you Alli."
Alli said, "Thank you," as she handed Mike a branch of flowers.

 Mike was having so much fun in the Land of the Dinosaurs that he had not noticed that his friend the unicorn was crying. "Why are you crying?" asked Mike.
"You have given names to everyone today except me," sighed the unicorn.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Ariel would be the perfect name for you," said Mike.
"I love it!" smiled the wide-eyed unicorn with a big grin. "Thank you!"

 As they were talking, a tiny compsognathus (komp-sog-NAY-thus), about the size of a cat, raced past them and said, "You must follow me. There is something you will want to see." Mike and Ariel chased after him.
"Wow! He is as fast as lightning. That's a great name for him," shouted Mike as he ran.

 They ran and ran until they came to some rugged, rocky cliffs. Lightning showed Mike a nest along the top of one of the cliffs and directed him to get a close look. The nest contained three baby pterodactyls (ter-uh-DAK-tuls).
"Who is supposed to be taking care of these babies?" asked Mike.

 "I am!" echoed a voice, circling above them. Just then a large pterodactyl glided past them. Mike found it hard to believe that a lizard could fly. Its wing span was about as long as his arm. Mike decided that Dack would be a fine name for a flying lizard. The father pterodactyl glided down to the nest. Ariel was quietly talking to Dack, but Mike could not hear what they were saying.

 Mike, Ariel and the pterodactyl flew back across the Land of the Dinosaurs until they once more reached the beautiful lake. This time Mike saw a lot of activity at the water's edge. Dinosaurs were decorating the beach with streamers and balloons. Mike wanted to help decorate and wondered if he could go to the party.

 The dinosaurs were gathered around a large two-tiered cake. "What a beautiful cake!" exclaimed Mike.
"It's for you!" shouted his new friends. Now Mike knew what Ariel had whispered to Dack. The dinosaurs realized that Mike had to return soon and had wanted to help him remember his first visit to the Land of the Dinosaurs.

 After the party, Alli, the allosaurus, told Mike that it was time to leave for Atlanta. Mike was a bit sad, but could hardly wait to tell Larry, Wayne and Bob about his exciting adventures. Before he left, they all thanked Mike for the nice names he had given them.

 Ariel flew Mike home and said, "I also have a surprise for you, Mike." In his room, he found a dinosaur cake with a personalized card signed by all the dinosaurs. Mike hugged Ariel for making his secret dream come true and told her how much he had enjoyed his trip to the Land of the Dinosaurs. "I will never forget what you have done for me! Thank you for my fabulous dinosaur adventure."

Here are the pronunciations for the dinosaurs you have read about in MY DINOSAUR ADVENTURE. Use your book to spell them correctly.

(uh - pat - o - SORE - us)
(steg-uh-SORE-us)
(al-uh-SORE-us)
(komp-sog-NAY-thus)
(ter-uh-DAK-tuls)
(pen-tuh-SARE-uh-tops)

What other dinosaurs can you name, Mike?