The first day of school can be exciting and intimidating. But for siblings Andy and Anna, the real adventure begins after their bus drops them off in the afternoon. Taking a shortcut home through a dark alley, they stumble upon the most remarkable of things… a large and unique egg that is about to hatch. Within 24 hours they discover, as you might guess by the book’s title, that a Raptor has mysteriously been born into modern day Pennsylvania! But there is more than one problem with keeping a Raptor as a pet. Not only do baby dinosaurs have a penchant for eating homework, but if Andy can’t improve his grades then his parents won’t let him keep the cute lizard at all.
A Raptor Ate My Homework sets the groundwork for a really great juvenile chapter book series. The concept is intriguing, especially as many children have a strong curiosity regarding dinosaurs. The characters are simple, but well developed. In addition to shy Andy and his protective sister Anna, the cast in this book includes a couple of loyal friends, a nasty bully, and a couple of brief mentions of the cute and popular girls in the class. There are a few grammatical issues in the text, but overall the story is written well enough. Parents may appreciate that A Raptor Ate My Homework features meaningful topics including bullying, friendship and doing well in school.
Julian Michael Carver has written a book that children will devour, much the way that Raptors apparently devour tennis balls. A Raptor Ate My Homework is an imaginative and adventurous story that is sure to provide hours of enjoyment.
