Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs: Missing Treasure! (Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs)

K-Gr 3 Young Flinn the dinosaur lover returns for a class trip to the museum. The boy is amazed by the skeleton of the ferocious Giganotosaurus, but becomes especially intrigued by the mysterious disappearance of one of the museum's other displaysthe pirate treasure of Captain Rufus Rumblebelly. Flinn and his friends follow a trail of clues (overlooked by the museum staff, of course) to a dusty cupboard, which leads to the cabin of Rumblebelly's ship. Here they find the pirate's grandson tied up, having recently been robbed himself by singing pirate dinosaurs en route to Bag o' Bones Island. Captain Flinn takes the helm and eventually recovers the treasure from pirate Giganotosaurus, who is deathly afraid of the spider dangling from Flinn's hat. Ayto's childlike yet masterful mixed-media paintings of spiky-haired Flinn, the rotund pirate, and a fanciful cast of dinosaurs will keep audiences glued to the page. As in "Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs" (S & S, 2005), the theme here is the beauty of a good imagination. Andreae pulls off another rousing tale for any young person who loves to dream big."Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI"

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