I requested this one with the hope of reading a book that could be a good read for a dinosaur loving kid and it definitely was that! I loved that the main protagonist was a young woman (most dinosaur kids books feature male main characters so it was a nice change) and it had way more dino facts than I first expected! Would totally recommend!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this titles. Unfortunately this book archived before I was able to download it and I will not be able to submit a review at this time.

This was my first time reading a Tim Collins book. This one is for a younger audience, nevertheless, I enjoyed reading the book. You meet Ann (a character inspired by Mary Anning) - a teenager from England who is an expert fossil hunter. She maintains a diary of her life & the bones that she collects. Her father sells these bones as cures for random diseases and scams the tourists. One day a surgeon who is a collector of fossils visits her father's stall and realizes the significance of these fossils. He invites Ann and her father to America to hunt dinosaur fossils. The kid is mocked by the Geological society, undeterred she continues on the journey and discovers different species of dinosaurs. The book also had cute illustrations of the creatures from the assembled bones which made it interesting.

An interesting read for the child in you 😃

Interesting premise, but the story was SO slow. Found it odd that instead of highlighting and actual female paleontologist of the time period, the author chose to create a fictitious character. I did enjoy the true fact sections though.

I loved it! I have many students who come to my school library asking for Dinosaur books. I often guide them to the non-fiction section, but secretly wish I had more narratives to point them to. This one fits the need. I loved that the illustrations were very accessible. The text was low enough that I can give it to young readers, and even older students if the interest is there. I also plan to use it as a Read Along book with my elementary classes. I will be ordering this book for my library and recommending it to multiple readers.

Sometimes a kid's novel that wants to inform, especially when structured as a journal or diary, can come across more as a laundry list of events rather than true cause and effect. It's informative more than entertaining.

The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the World's Worst Dinosaur Hunter by Tim Collins~Set in 1870’s England this Juvenile fiction is written in the style of a diary. Told from the female perspective, it’s quite inspirational for young teen females.

This is a good book for kids. An easy read and with educational facts sprinkled in along the way, kids will enjoy the story and learn while they are reading.

I have not read any other books in this series, but this was a fun epistolary novel (diary format) telling of a girl's adventures hunting for dinosaur fossils in the American west of the late 1800s. Although apparently based on a real person, it was obviously fiction with some over-the-top humor that I think young readers will enjoy. There is also extensive backmatter about people and other material related to the topic. I look forward to seeing a print copy.

If you have have dinosaur enthusiasts at your house you’ll want to read The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the World’s Worst Dinosaur Hunter.

The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the World’s Worst Dinosaur Hunter is a terrific book! While most is a woven story of intrigue that weaves fact and fiction the end outlines the 100+ years of dinosaur hunting that parents and true dinosaur lovers will cherish.

This would have been a great book for my reluctant readers (who are now adults…) and an even better book for my Dino loving nieces & nephews. I can’t wait to share it with them!

Review will post 9/13/18 at http://www.hottbooks.com/?p=50840

Mix history (1870s dinosaur hunting), science, and fiction, and you have this book. It's fun, engaging, and perfect for the classroom (and your dinosaur fan).

My only criticism is that it took me a little bit to figure out that this wasn't 'just' a humorous book--there are quite a few dinosaur facts in here. So read the fine print here, don't judge the book by its cover and title, and you'll find the right kid reader for this book.

Recommended for your kid who is totally into dinosaurs.

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

Ann is a young and aspiring paleontologist/fossil hunter, who spends her days combing the shorelines for fossils. Her dad sells them to tourists, touting their healing properties for any and every ailment. But when a famous paleontologist stumbles past the stand, he sees the fossils for what they really are and encourages Ann to continue her collecting, suggesting she go on a trip to America to search for fossils in the west. Along the way, someone tries to sabotage her finds, and take the glory for themselves!

The characters are heavily inspired by real life paleontologists and events surrounding fossil hunting–Ann is just a younger version of Mary Anning, the Bone Wars provide the sabotage plotline, and the adult paleontologists are all based off of real life ones. There is a decent section at the end of the book that provides brief bios of the people the characters are based off of, as well as a timeline of major discoveries and a glossary. “Get Real” paragraphs throughout inform the reader of additional facts, providing a strong link between the facts and the fiction.

Told in epistolary form, it actually felt like reading a diary. It wasn’t full of verbatim conversations like many books this type do (which annoys me to no end) and Ann’s voice and overall style fit her age without being overly whiney or pompous, considering her adventures.

While the context clues give this away as being set in the mid- to late-1800s (the facts in the back say it’s set in 1870), it is not completely obvious and it doesn’t play a huge role in how the main story itself unfolds. While the prejudice against women in such a field is still touched upon, what Ann does not come across as nearly as taboo as it truly was in Victorian times. This could be positive or negative, depending on your exact views; I found it to be a slightly good thing, as it does’t heavily discourage girls who are reading it from wanting to learn more about dinosaurs and paleontology, while still providing context of the prejudices of the time.

I wasn’t a fan of the illustration style–it wasn’t period-accurate and it didn’t add anything visually or contextually to the story. Fortunately, there weren’t tons of illustrations, just a nice peppering of them throughout, so the story was still front and center.

Definitely recommended for any kids who love dinosaurs, especially those who are just starting to dive into the dino fandom. Or, you know, for adults who like dinosaurs too and want a quick read. Because you never grow out of your dinosaur phase.

I blame myself for wanting to read every book with ‘dinosaur’ in the title. Not being familiar with this series it took me a little while to realise that our main character Ann lived in the 1800’s. It took me until the end of the book to find out that it’s set in 1870. Ann’s story is told in diary form and is inspired by the life of Mary Anning who, along with her brother, found the first complete Ichthyosaur skeleton in 1811.

Ann finds fish lizard bones and her father, who’s essentially a snake oil salesman, sells them to tourists as a “cure” for whatever he deems wrong with them. His scams and tactless sales pitch tends to get him into trouble and Ann appears to take on somewhat of a parental role, trying to keep him out of trouble and entertained.

One day a surgeon who collects fossils encounters her father’s stall, realises the scientific importance of her discovery and after some setbacks Ann and her father wind up visiting the New World (America) on an expedition to hunt dinosaurs. Despite the old men at the Geological Society dismissing her due to her age and gender Ann is determined to become a great scientist.

I never really connected with Ann’s character although the story did grow on me over time. I found the writing to be very matter of fact and mostly a series of “I did this”, “I went there” and “That happened”. Ann’s continual references to believing she was cursed each time something went wrong irritated me after a while. Perhaps it just wasn’t my type of humour but there was only one part that I found smirk worthy and based on the blurb I’d expected ‘hilarity’.

I still don’t know how Ann qualifies as the “World’s Worst Dinosaur Hunter” as she seemed pretty great at it, so much so that even though she is uneducated, unqualified and a girl (shock, horror!) she is the first to discover several dinosaur species.

I did like the ‘Get Real’ facts scattered throughout the book, my favourite of which involved William Buckland who “attempted to eat his way through the entire animal kingdom, and is known to have served his guests mice on toast and roasted hedgehog.” Ew!!

The sections at the end of the book where I learned about Mary Anning’s life and some other notable dinosaur hunters were interesting. Also included are a timeline and glossary.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jolly Fish Press, an imprint of North Star Editions, for the opportunity to read this book.

My son and I read this book together and it was adorable! The book is written in a diary format by Anna. It chronicles her adventures finding bones and fossils and her father selling them to cure ailments. The book was cleverly done and my 8 year old loved it!, He instantly asked if there were more books!! Super cute!

This is the first book of The Long-Lost Secret Diary series that I've read. I think for young paleontology fans it'll be a big hit. I'd hand it off to kids ages 6 and up with no hesitation.

This is an entertaining, yet educational book for elementary school aged children. I like that while it is fiction there are enough facts spread throughout for readers to learn from.

The Long-Lost Secret Diary series is a great series for elementary age children. The stories are entertaining, and there are facts scattered throughout the books, making them educational as well.

This book is all about fossils, and the search to discover new species. The title makes it clear that the journey is not smooth sailing. This book was okay, but so far in the series, I like The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the World's Worst Pirate the most. Not that this isn't a good book, just my preference.

Kids starting to read chapter books will love this series.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Author: Tim Collins
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press
Publication Date: 2018

Note: Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with a free copy for review via Netgalley.

This was a cute kid's book but seemed kind of discouraging to little girls. I think you would have to supplement it with other readings.

This was a highly amusing book aimed at middle-grade readers. It's also quite short. I can't speak for middle-graders, but it amused the heck out of me! It seemed a bit far-fetched at first, all the bad luck this young girl was having trying to find dinosaur bones in the USA. Her first set turned into a crumbled mess in storage. She found more at a different location, only to be held-up at gunpoint by masked bandits and the bones were taken, and so it went.

Despite the far-fetched nature of the tale, I was willing to let this slide because it was a children's book, but then this girl figures out her expedition is being sabotaged, which I thought was a pretty good twist. The story is amusing, and the girl is plucky and smart: just my kind of female main character. She's also very patient with her opportunistic and rather avaricious father. The book is educational. Periodically there's a section which talks about the bones she finds and what kind of dinosaur it was and so on, and so I really liked this. I mean, what's not to like, especially since it's very loosely based on a real female dino-hunter?

It seemed to me to be the perfect story for any middle-grader interested in dinosaurs or in science in general. I'd have liked it slightly better if the girl had shown that she knew that you don't just find random dino bones. You have to look in certain rock strata where the bones would have been fossilized, so that information would have been nice. The assumption here is that the fossil hunter who prepared her maps would have marked the right location to search, but a small clarification about rock strata would have been a nice addition. I liked that she consulted books, journals and maps to plan her forays. That was a good touch. Overall, I enjoyed this very much and I recommend it as a worthy read.