Geronimo Stilton Book 32: Valley of the Giant Skeletons

ISBN-10: 0545021324
ISBN-13:978-0545021326

Summary:
Tuslaarai! Tuslaarai! That's Mongolian for "Help!" and holey cheese did I need some! I was lost in the Gobi Desert, looking for a hidden treasure. So far, all I had found were sandstorms, camels, and giant dinosaur bones? Rat-munching rattlesnakes - how do I get myself into these situations?

Review:
My Rating: A
A great book, one of Geronimo’s best so far.
Trap discovers a map hidden in the bed of his rail-carriage home which used to belong to the Stilton cousin’s uncle Wally Stilton. The map is of an area in the Gobi Desert (in Outer Mongolia) known as the Valley Of The Giant Skeletons. The valley, with names like Bonehole Peak, Tibia Hills and the Metatarsus River, was to be the location of one of Wally’s expeditions but the explorer was prematurely eaten by a crocodile before he could get there.

Trap and Geronimo decide to visit the valley, to discover the location of the treasure. Trap of course is only interested in the money and Geronimo wishes to complete the search to honour his uncle. They recruit Thea and Benjamin to help them and before you can say cheese nibblets, the team are once again aboard a plane where Geronimo meets the famous Dr Karina von Fossilsnout, also on her way to the Gobi Desert.

Adventure and betrayal ensue with our heroes eventually befriended by a Mongolian family. There is a great moment in the book where the team are rescued by the family and taken in to their humble home to share their food and other aspects of the culture. Here the author took great care to highlight specific details about the Mongolian traditions and culture that add to the depth of the story.

Maps are referred to often in the story and this book would be a wonderful way to introduce maps and map-reading to younger audiences. On one map each section of the team’s journey, via plane then bus and finally camel, is traced using a different key and this is wonderful for elementary map reading skills.

The illustrations are of a high standard and create a lot of atmosphere-you can see the grains of sand in the sandstorm scene! And as usual there are a number of visual jokes that kids will love. The fact files are informative and I learned some fascinating things about a little-known and little-represented country in our wonderful world.
Well done Geronimo!

Main Characters:
Geronimo Stilton: Hero and Narrator
Thea Stilton: Geronimo’s Sister
Trap Stilton: Geronimo’s Cousin
Benjamin Stilton: Geronimo’s lovable 9 year old nephew
Bondi Bobirat: A guide in Mongolia
Dr Karina von Fossilsnout: the Director of the Mouseum Of Natural History In New Mouse City
Petunia Pretty Paws: A reporter committed to saving the environment
The Shadow: Sally Ratmousen’s cousin and an elusive thief
Wally Stilton: Geronimo’s adventurous Uncle

What I Learnt (The Extra Bits):
Factfiles: Guide To Mongolia (3 pages), Genhgis Khan biography (1 page), A page about amber, The Lost World Of Dinosaurs (2 pages) and The Dinosaurs Of Mongolia (2 pages), Small factfile on The Orient Express.

Maps: Map of a Mongolian family’s tent, Map of Geronimo Stilton’s Trip In Mongolia, Diagram of Trap’s house, Map of The Valley Of Skeletons.

Fun Bits: Mongolian tale “The Two Horses”

Non-Fiction Resources For Further Discussion:
Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs: The Definitive Pop-Up:
There are some amazing pop-up books out at the moment and the people responsible for many of them Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda created this masterpiece as well. Their creations simply have to be seen to be believed and this piece of art will be treasured for generations. “This breathtaking pop-up book offers up-to-the-minute information on more than 50 dinosaur species. Six multi-layered spreads each feature one spectacular, large pop-up and several booklets of smaller pop-ups and text.” (Ages 4+)

Horse Song The Naadam Of Mongolia:
Ted and Betsy Lewin's illustrated travelogue story of their trip to Mongolia to watch young boy and girl jockeys race horses in the traditional Naadam summer festival. Beautiful paintings of the country and an exciting travel story into an unfamiliar culture will fascinate young children. (Ages 4-8)

Fiction That Deals With similar subjects:
Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Treehouse Series):
In the first volume of this very successful and informative chapter book series for emerging readers, Jack and his sister Annie take a trip in a magic tree house and land in a time 65 million years ago. (Ages 4-8)

Attack of the Tyrannosaurus (Dinosaur Cove):
Dinosaur_Cove The first in another great series of early chapter books. “Tom and Jamie can't believe their luck when they find a secret entrance to a prehistoric world filled with dinosaurs! The first dinosaur they meet is a friendly wannanosaurus. It eats the fruit from super-stinky ginkgo trees. But soon, Tom and Jamie meet a much less friendly dino: a Tyrannosaurus Rex that would like to eat them!”

Where To Buy The Book
A great way to purchase Geronimo Stilton books is on the internet, and ebay is one of the best resources around for finding a great price. Click on the latest live auctions for Geronimo Stilton Valley Of The Giant Skeletons below.
If you prefer a bookstore, Amazon has great service and a great price.