Contributed by Bonnye Matthews
Consider the thought of dinosaur fossils and a launch in one thought. Something alive more than 65 million years ago tied to an event that became routine in the twentieth century, where satellites were placed in rotation around the earth from a rocket? Can you even get your head around 65 million? It’s easy to imagine ten or one hundred, but 65 million! “Launch” is a satellite orbit send off? Today when a new book is coming out, its first event is referred to as a launch. This book launch is for Arctic Dinosaurs of Alaska, a middle-grade fiction that nestles in a surround of non-fiction. The story takes place 70 million years ago in Alaska. Here are some freshly-posted netgalley reviews of this book: www.netgalley.com/book/263031/reviews
The story follows eight species of Arctic dinosaurs through a year. The species in the story are: Pachyrhinosauruses, Alaskacephales, Dromaeosauruses, Ugrunaaluks, Ornithomimosauruses, Troodons, Nanuqsauruses, and Thescelosauruses. In Arctic Alaska they’d experience long times of sun all day and night, as well as long times where the sun never rises above the horizon. At the time these critters were located close to the North Pole, they were very close to the geophysical point where all the lines of longitude meet, forming a point around which the earth rotates. Dinosaurs were lizards! How on earth in winter did they stay warm? It snowed! There were months with no sun. Light was limited to the moon, stars, aurora borealis. Up on the northern slopes in Alaska, the land is flat. Forests were thin. What kept winter wind from blowing dinosaurs, like roly polies, all over the place? How did the plant eaters not starve to death? They had no winter gear or fast-food shops. The book speculates the answers. For millions of years the dinosaurs not only survived, but also they thrived. They were smart.
Arctic Dinosaurs of Alaska is chock full of images that you can color. It’s not a coloring book but you can color in your book. There are four editions and two cannot be colored in the books: the Library Edition and ebook. So, here’s how to color them. There is a coloring page download section on the publisher’s website where you can download over 40 illustrations. Do you know who the father of Alaska dinosaurs is? It’s in the book. Do you know what the land—where the USA is—looked like when these dinosaurs walked Alaska? It’s in the book. The climate 70 million years ago? It’s in the book.
We’ve looked into the dinosaur part. How about the launch part? We were invited to launch Arctic Dinosaurs of Alaska at the Alaska Museum of Science and Nature. It’s located at 201 N Bragaw in Anchorage. The building is hard to miss with dinosaurs and megafauna painted on the exterior. What a wonderful opportunity! You can tour the Museum and buy a book in the same trip. The place even contains fossils of Arctic dinosaurs! In the Museum, look up and you’ll see a realistically huge pterosaur. It could eat me entirely in a single gulp. On the wall you’ll find a Troodon, and on a shelf, you’ll see the tiny skull of an Alaskacephale. The Museum is filled with amazing finds.
There is an admission fee: Members free, Senior (60+) $7.00, Adult 19+ $8.00, Military with ID $7.00, Youth 3-18 $6,00, Toddlers (under 3) free.
The launch is August 20, 2022 from 1-4pm. If you purchase a book (paperback and hardcover books will be available), you can have the book signed by the author, Bonnye Matthews, a local Alaskan author who primarily writes prehistoric fiction.
We hope to see you there!
