Microsaurs: Tiny-Raptor Pack Attack is fun, action based, STEM reading

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

STEM is as STEM does and parents know that’s the path to children excelling in their education. But there are also the arts, creativity and letting your imagination go sideways that are also key aspects in making today’s students tomorrow’s leaders. So how does feeding dinosaur’s hot dogs and pizza factor into this? To answer that we need to jump into Microsaurs, Tiny-Raptor Pack Attack by Dustin Hansen and explore the small, yet large world he’s created.

Dinosaurs means ‘big lizard’. By default, Microsaurs means ‘small lizard and Tiny Raptor Pack attack is the second book in this series. Using a combination of images and words, Hansen has created STEM bases processes and adventures, without young readers realizing that they’re reading about science.

They’re using the Scientific Method to solve problems. That’s what I thought to myself as I was reading the book. Danny and Lin, the two characters in the book weren’t calling it by name, but they were trying different things, recording their findings and tweaking them just a bit to see how that new perspective affected their problem.

And have these two got problems. They’ve been provided with a tiny box of microsaurs by their friend and teacher, Professor Penrod. Danny and Lin are two typical pre-teens in that they’re curious, love adventure and having fun. However, these two must shrink themselves down to the size of a raisin so that they can see what’s in the box that their professor left them.

Thankfully, they’ve got a Mini-Maxitron Reduction Nozzle that’ll get them down to size, as well as an Expand-O-Matic that will make them regular size again. When they’re small they find out that the box is packed with Oviraptors. They appear hungry and malevolent at first, but then all they want to do is steal eggs from the other dinosaurs in the Microterium; which is the greater name for the small world all of these things happen in.

Toss in some robots on wheels, other dinosaurs, pre-teen relationships and competition and you’ve got a book that ages seven and up will relate to and enjoy. Microsaurs, Tiny-Raptor Pack Attack is a book that boys and girls can enjoy equally. Lin is not the second fiddle, she’s as footloose, loves danger, is intelligent, and willing to scientifically experiment as Danny.

This is a book that our almost eight year old read with ease. Kids younger than that will require some help with the vocabulary and each chapter is between 13-19 pages. The Lexile Measurement for Microsaurs is slightly above Captain Underpants. Microsaurs has fewer drawings and no potty humor, but the vocabulary and science fiction parallels are the same.