Finn is on a school trip in the French Alps with his friend Milo (the ‘Professor’) when he falls into a glacier and discovers a mysterious egg. Later that night the egg begins to hatch, Finn thinks this could be his big break into becoming a YouTuber, so he films it. But he could never have anticipated what actually emerges – an extinct, 65 million-year-old, flying dinosaur called a microraptor.
Arty (Artemis) the microraptor immediately imprints on Finn but they hardly have any time to bond before their hotel room is under siege by mercenaries trying to steal the microraptor, and Finn, Milo and Arty only narrowly escape by abseiling out of the window with the help of secret agent Lara, of the special branch of the Natural History Museum. The four of them go on the run together to keep Arty out of the hands of the evil scientists and get her safely back to England.
Finn is a character that a lot of children will be able to relate to. He is not keen on hiking or any other kind of physical activity – he only likes three things: video games, takeaway food and a large couch. But as soon as Arty hatches he is astonished to discover that he will do anything to protect her, including hiking through the Black Forest, building their own shelter and foraging for food.
There are plenty of children’s books that claim to be funny but the humour is often limited to fart jokes – Philip’s writing is genuinely laugh-out-loud hilarious. This madcap adventure is crammed with non-stop action, survival skills, witty quips, and impossible creatures – perfect for fans of Rick Riordan, Maz Evans and Katie & Kevin Tsang’s ‘Dragon Realm’ books. This story would be particularly great for reluctant readers as it is relatively short and illustrated throughout by Euan Cook, in addition to being fun and fast-paced. And who doesn’t love a dinosaur?
‘Mission: Microraptor’ is also the first of a series and Finn and Milo will be back for their second adventure soon.
Thanks to Chicken House for the ARC.
Swimming in Books 