3.0
Dactyl Hill Squad
ByPublisher Description
“An unforgettable historical, high-octane adventure,” about a diverse group of kids flying on dinosaurs to rescue friends from Civil War slave traders (Dav Pilkey, author-illustrator of the Dog Man series).
It’s 1863 and dinosaurs roam the streets of New York as the Civil War rages between raptor-mounted armies down South. Magdalys Roca and her friends from the Colored Orphan Asylum are on a field trip when the Draft Riots break out, and a number of their fellow orphans are kidnapped by an evil magistrate, Richard Riker. Magdalys flees with her friends to Brooklyn, settling in the Dactyl Hill neighborhood, where black and brown New Yorkers have found a safe haven. Together with the Vigilance Committee, they train to fly on dactylback and plot to take down Riker. Can Magdalys and the squad rescue their friends before it’s too late?
A New York Times Notable Book
An NPR, School Library Journal, New York Public Library, Washington Post and Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
“Mind-bendingly original.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Delightful historical fantasy.” —Publishers Weekly
“Sends readers on a dino thrill ride.” —Jacqueline Woodson, New York Times–bestselling author of Brown Girl Dreaming
“Full of heart and imagination.” —Tomi Adeyemi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Children of Blood and Bone
“Grips, stomps, and soars from start to finish.” —Rita Williams-Garcia, three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of One Crazy Summer
“ An engaging, lively adventure.”
—Jesmyn Ward, two-time National Book Award-winning author of Sing, Unburied, Sing
“Brings history to life with power, honesty, and fun.” —Laurie Halse Anderson,New York Times–bestselling author of Chains
It’s 1863 and dinosaurs roam the streets of New York as the Civil War rages between raptor-mounted armies down South. Magdalys Roca and her friends from the Colored Orphan Asylum are on a field trip when the Draft Riots break out, and a number of their fellow orphans are kidnapped by an evil magistrate, Richard Riker. Magdalys flees with her friends to Brooklyn, settling in the Dactyl Hill neighborhood, where black and brown New Yorkers have found a safe haven. Together with the Vigilance Committee, they train to fly on dactylback and plot to take down Riker. Can Magdalys and the squad rescue their friends before it’s too late?
A New York Times Notable Book
An NPR, School Library Journal, New York Public Library, Washington Post and Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
“Mind-bendingly original.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Delightful historical fantasy.” —Publishers Weekly
“Sends readers on a dino thrill ride.” —Jacqueline Woodson, New York Times–bestselling author of Brown Girl Dreaming
“Full of heart and imagination.” —Tomi Adeyemi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Children of Blood and Bone
“Grips, stomps, and soars from start to finish.” —Rita Williams-Garcia, three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of One Crazy Summer
“ An engaging, lively adventure.”
—Jesmyn Ward, two-time National Book Award-winning author of Sing, Unburied, Sing
“Brings history to life with power, honesty, and fun.” —Laurie Halse Anderson,New York Times–bestselling author of Chains
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities54 Reviews
3.0

Itsreb
Created 8 months agoShare
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“Fun concept, dinosaurs are still around and thriving in the world and this story centers around Magdalys Roca and her friends during the US Civil War. Along with the other children at the Colored Orphan Asylum, Magdalys is on the run after New York explodes into riots. I think the dinosaurs”

Laura
Created about 1 year agoShare
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“Historical fiction with dinosaurs? The combination just barely works (IMVHO) - the history occasionally got short-shrifted because the dinosaur part needed to be worked in. Luckily there are author's notes about the Draft Riots, the Colored Orphan Asylum, the period slang and dinorsaurs to help fill in blanks and point readers to additional information.
ARC provided by publisher.”

MyGnomeHands
Created over 1 year agoShare
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Andrea
Created over 1 year agoShare
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“Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel Jose Older is an upcoming release that I received as an ARC. This one is a kid's book about dinosaurs in the Civil War. . . I'll pause for you to re-read that one. Yes, there are dinosaurs. Yes, it takes place in the Civil War. This one is a bit of alternate history. The story focuses on children from the Colored Orphans Asylum which was real. The children are trying to find safety (from the war, slavery, and dino-based risks), learn who they are, and navigate a very different world. For me, I think this would have read easier as a graphic novel. I visualize as I read, and it was hard to simultaneously navigate a vision of the experiences of the kids, the happenings of the Civil War and the presence of dinosaurs. I recognize this is a children's book, but I just needed so much more detail. I loved the premise as it's so uniquely ambitious, but again, I just had so many questions as I crafted the story in my own head. I would be intrigued to see if the target audience (who is not me) was able to digest and dream this one as they read.”
About Daniel José Older
Daniel José Older has always loved monsters, whether historical, prehistorical, or imaginary. His debut series for young adults, the Shadowshaper Cypher, has earned starred reviews, the International Latino Book Award, and New York Times Notable Book and NPR Best Book of the Year picks, among other accolades. His debut middle-grade series, Dactyl Hill Squad, was named to the New York Times Notable Book list and to the NPR and Washington Post Best Book of the Year lists, among others. He has worked as a bike messenger, a waiter, and a teacher, and was a New York City paramedic for ten years. Daniel splits his time between Brooklyn and New Orleans.
Other books by Daniel José Older
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