Dinotopia: First Flight

By James Gurney

Book Overview

"Critics have gushed over Gurney's phantasmagorical creation, likening him to such venerated literary fantasists as Jules Verne, Wells, and J. R. R. Tolkien." -- People Magazine
James Gurney's illustrated Dinotopia series has been an imaginative touchstone for a generation of readers of all ages. This new definitive edition of Dinotopia: First Flight brings together an extensive collection of James Gurney's stories, artwork, and story notes from the ancient origins of the land where humans and dinosaurs coexist. That peaceful world was forged on the flames of conflict in a dramatic Age of Heroes. First Flight tells a timeless tale of partnership and courage, where unlikely heroes cooperate to overcome the greatest challenge yet to face Dinotopia.
This lavishly produced volume begins with an unabridged republication of James Gurney's influential 1999 story about the adventures of Gideon Altaire. Gideon escapes from his post as a drone pilot, befriends a small band of animal characters, and becomes the first human to fly on the back of a giant pterosaur known as a skybax. Together they challenge a bold attempt by the rogue leaders of Poseidos to overturn the tenuous balance between humans and dinosaurs.
The second half of the book includes a bonus of over 45 new images, including never-before-published storyboards, concept sketches, and production paintings, plus new characters, stories, and backstory notes from James Gurney's creative archives. The supplement begins with a cinematic treatment about a character named Blake Terrapin, who leads the resistance on the ground while Gideon takes to the air.　
Together, the elements of this richly imagined volume combine to conjure a richly textured world, and will serve as an exciting companion volume to Gurney's other Dinotopia books.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1606600575
• ISBN13: 9781606600573
• Release Date: May 2014
• Publisher: Calla Editions
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 2.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 10.7" x 10.1"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

A Bit Thin

Dinotopia always delivers stunning illustrations and wonderous worldbuilding, but I did find First Flight to be a bit thin. The story itself is only about 60 pages, and the rest of the book is dedicates to draft illustrations and a draft story that never made it to final publication. Still worth reading, but not as rich as the other books in the series.

Dinotopia:First Flight

Dinotopia:First Flight is a book about a boy named Gileon,who is being tracked down by an evil person named Roff Stricker because he is not doing his schoolwork.He makes some friends named Budge,Binny,Bandy and Bongo(Short nam is the 4 B's)that help Gideon out of his dangerous adventure.If you like dinos and robots you will like this book.

Good, but....

I found the story very lacking, but the lustrations are up to par, above in some cases. I noticed that most of the other reviews were four stars. In my opinion, that means the illustrations are enough to carry the book. Illustrations of this caliber normally are.

i am desaponted

i am a great dinotopia fan and i liked the other more complex books of dinotopia and didn't think this was a good book at all

A great introduction.

My 1st grade son received this book for Christmas and was thrilled with the story and has studied the pictures by the hour. We are looking forward to working our way through the older Dinotopia stories now. I was surprised that this book was not reviewed as highly as the other books so now have some very high expectations. This shorter story was a nice way for my 7 year old to be introduced some serious fiction without scaring him with bulky text. It is a nice change from Pokemon.

Dinotopia: First Flight

This was a great book. I was completely astonished by the beauty of the illustrations and the descriptive nature of the text. I personally find the original title the best, but this one is up to par.