The assassin focused in on his target.
It was going to be easy. The target was concentrating so hard, there was no way he’d notice the stealthy footfalls of the assassin as he came at the target from behind. It was going to be the easiest job the assassin had had in ages. So easy, he wondered if he should delay it until the target could at least put up a bit of a fight.
Nah, he’d destroy him now anyway.
Then he could go dirt bike riding.
Robert Irwin, son of Steve and Terry, brother of Bindi, now has his own series. But where Bindi’s books are about her adventures at the family’s Australia Zoo, Robert is obsessed with slightly older animals. Prehistoric in fact. Robert is a huge fan of dinosaurs. In the first title, Robert finds himself crossing from the present to the mid-cretaceous period where he encounters real dinosaurs. Fortunately, his natural (genetic?) ability to ‘read’ animals is combined with the knowledge he’s garnered allow him to understand a little about what’s going on. And there’s a lot going on. Along the way, he learns more about dinosaurs than most people will ever know. In subsequent titles, he visits other periods, meets other dinosaurs in their natural habitat.
Many young children, boys particularly, develop an intense fascination with dinosaurs. Robert, star of these novels, is no different. Well, except that he gets to live his fantasy by visiting these amazing creatures in their habitat. More and more is becoming known about dinosaurs and children are adept at searching out knowledge when they are passionate about it. Young readers will understand Robert’s thirst for knowledge and empathise with his frustration that not everyone shares his passion. How can they not? But even if Robert wasn’t known because of his famous family, young readers would flock to this series written for the dino-phile. Recommended for newly-confident readers moving from illustrated texts towards novels.
Robert Irwin Dinosaur Hunter 1: The Discovery Random House 2013 ISBN: 9781864718454
Robert Irwin Dinosaur Hunter 2: Ambush at Cisco Swamp Random House 2013 ISBN: 9781864718461
Robert Irwin Dinosaur Hunter 3: Armoured Defence Random House 2013 ISBN: 9781742750910
Robert Irwin Dinosaur Hunter 4: The Dinosaur Feather Random House 2013 ISBN: 9781742750927
review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author