Eleana’s Dinosaur Adventure 14151

Copyright © 2015 Grandma Ragan.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-1779-1 (sc) ISBN: 978-1-4808-1780-7 (e)

Archway Publishing rev. date: 5/8/2015

One day while Eleana was at school, her teacher told the students that on Friday the class would be going on a field trip to the zoo. It was located in the park on the outskirts of town.

Today was Monday, only four more days.

Eleana could hardly wait until school was out so she could tell her mom.

She hurried home. Thank goodness, she lived close to school and it didn’t take her long before she was at home.

She opened the door and yelled, “Mom, Dad and Bryce,” (her older brother), “our class is going on a trip to the zoo on Friday!”

“I am so excited! What can I do to make the time go faster?” asked Eleana.

Bryce suggested she could make a list of all the animals she wanted to see.

Eleana’s mother suggested she could figure out the clothes she would wear.

I want you to wear something warm and bright,” said her mother.

“Why do I have to wear something bright?” asked Eleana.

“There will be lots of children going to the zoo and your bright colors will help the teacher and parents in charge to keep track of you. I sure don’t want you to get lost,” said her mother.

The next day after school, Eleana sat at the table and started her list of the animals she wanted to see at the zoo.

I want to see a huge elephant.

A fierce tiger.

A mighty lion.

And a beautiful giraffe.

There were so many more she wanted to see that it would take a lot of paper to list them all.

The next night was Wednesday. She made a list of what she would wear to the zoo.

She had already decided to wear her blue pants and her favorite multi-colored top that her cousin, Fernando, who lives in Las Vegas, had given her along with her red jacket and red ribbons in two pony tails.

Just one more day and night then Friday would be here.

Eleana could hardly wait. “Now, what will I do until then?” asked Eleana.

Mother suggested that she watch one of her favorite movies before she went to sleep.

She chose Jurassic Park, a movie all about dinosaurs.

Eleana fell asleep and had a colorful dream.

It started with her at school. The teacher told all the students to get in a line and count one through twenty. They did and then they were told that every other student would be partners.

Eleana looked to see who her partner would be and it was Adam.

Eleana was happy, as Adam was nice and fun to be around. They liked to laugh.

The next thing that happened was she and Adam were looking at the animals in the zoo. All of a sudden they saw a path leading through the woods.

Adam said, “Eleana, where are you going?”

Eleana said, “Don’t be afraid, Adam. Come along and let’s see where the path goes.”

Soon they heard a big loud noise, and a big loud roar ahead.

Adam wanted to turn around and go back to the zoo, but Eleana said “Don’t be afraid, Adam. Let’s go on and see what the noise is about.”

They looked behind a big bush and saw a big Deinonychus {dye-non-ih-kus} staring at them.

It was a dinosaur carnivore, about 10 feet long, and it used its hind legs to kick and make bad wounds.

It was scary so they stayed very quiet and did not move.

Adam and Eleana just stood there and watched.

Soon, the Deinonychus moved on.

Adam wanted to go back, but Eleana saw another path and wanted to see where it went.

They followed the path and came across a Maiasaura, one of Eleana’s favorite dinosaurs.

The mother Maiasaura was there, looking at her nest of eggs. Some of them were hatching, so they got to see some baby dinosaurs.

“Aren’t they cute, Adam?” asked Eleana.

Maiasaura {my-ah-sore-ah} means “good mother lizard,” said Eleana.

It was 30 feet long and ate plants. They were good mothers to their babies.

As Eleana and Adam walked down one path and then another, they found all kinds of dinosaurs. They saw two Gallimimus {gal-ih-my-muss} running side by side, looking similar to a chicken (like the word means).

These dinosaurs had toothless beaks and their feet had 3 toes, like a bird, but they had arms instead of wings. They were 17 feet long, fast runners and planteaters.

Next they saw a Psittacosaurus {sih-tak-oh-sore-us}, which means “like a parrot,” because its jaw was shaped like a beak.

The Psittacosaurus was a cousin to the Triceratops, another dinosaur. They were only five feet tall and were plant-eaters and walked on all fours.

Eleana and Adam were beginning to feel less afraid now but were still being careful to hide in the bushes.

“Look, Adam, there is a Triceratops.” {try-ser-ah-tops}

The name means “three horns.”

They were 30 feet long, and weighed 6 tons. They were plant-eaters. Their horns were for protection and fighting.

Next, they saw a Diplodocus {dih-plod-uh-kuss}. It was very big, about 100 feet long. He was a plant-eater and had nostrils on top of his head so that he could be almost totally submerged under water. The bones in its neck and tail were hollow, and he only weighed 10 tons.

Eleana and Adam followed one path and another.

They were having so much fun seeing so many dinosaurs, that they didn’t want to stop.

They continued on a different path and wondered what they would see next.

It was a Diatryma {die-ah-try-ma}, a bird unable to fly. It ate meat and nested on the ground.

Eleana and Adam stayed quiet and were able to watch everything this creature did.

Next, they saw another big dinosaur, called the Pachycephalosaurus {pak-ee-sefuh-lo-sore-us}. Its long name means “bone-head” dinosaur.

Its skull was twenty times thicker than a person’s. That would be like having a bowling ball on your head!

It was 15 feet tall and had a very hard head and a small brain.

Eleana and Adam continued to walk and walk through the woods.

Everywhere they turned they saw all kinds of dinosaurs.

They sure did have a lot of fun and excitement on their walk through the woods.

The Lambeosaurus {lam-bee-oh-sore-us} was a duck-billed dinosaur related to the Parasaurotophus. Its crest had nostrils in it and may have been used to make sounds. It was about 30 to 50 feet long.

Spinosaurus {spy-no-sore-us} means ‘spiny lizard’.

The sail on its back opened like a fan and was used to regulate its body temperature. It had very sharp teeth.

Kentrosaurus {ken-tro-sore-us} means ‘spiked lizard.’ It was a cousin to the Stegosaurus. It had a tiny brain and no teeth.

It ate plants and walked on all four legs and weighed about 17 tons.

The children were very surprised and excited when they spotted the Tyrannosaurus {ty-ran-oh-sore-us}. They helped each other to stay brave while they crouched even lower in the bushes.

The T Rex had 6- inch long really sharp teeth and stood 40 feet tall. He was not a hunter, but rather a scavenger.

“Look Adam, there is a Pteranodon,” said Eleana.

“Where?” asked Adam.

“Look up in the sky,” said Eleana.

Pteranodon {ter-an-o-don} had wings and no teeth. It liked to glide more than fly. It was about the same size as a turkey and ate fish.

Soon, they came across the Stegosaurus {steg-oh-sore-us}. It had a tiny brain and was 25 feet long, 12 feet high and weighed close to two tons. It ate plants and had bony plates and tail spikes for protection.

Compsognathus {comp-sog-nay-thus}

Compsognathus means “pretty jaw”. It was the size of a chicken. It was quick. It liked to eat little animals.

The Iguanodon {ee-gwan-oh-don} looked kind of like an iguana. It was big as an elephant and lived in the woods. It ate plants and had spiky teeth like an iguana.

The last dinosaur they saw was the Archaeopteryx {ar-kay-op-ter-icks} which means ‘ancient wings.’ It was about the same size as a crow. It had beautiful feathers and bones like a bird. It had claws, teeth and a long bony tail like a dinosaur. (Did you know that today’s birds are considered dinosaurs?)

Eleana was looking at this beautiful Archaeopteryx when she felt someone shaking her.

“Get up, Eleana, you have to get dressed,” said her mother. “Today is the day you go to the zoo with your class.”

Eleana was surprised, as she thought she had gone already. “Mother, I had a beautiful dream. I went to the zoo with my class. I saw a lion and an elephant, a tiger and a beautiful giraffe,” said Eleana. “Then Adam, my partner, and I got separated from the other classmates.”

“We ended up going down a path in the woods and saw all kinds of dinosaurs!” said Eleana.

“Did the dinosaurs scare you, Eleana?” asked Mother.

“No, they were very kind, and they just let Adam and me look at them before going on down the path,” said Eleana. “I loved my dream and now I will get dressed and go on my trip to the zoo.”

“I hope I will have Adam as my partner so I can tell him all about my dream,” said Eleana as she ran out the door to school.

THE END.