My son loved this book. He is obsessed my dinosaurs and we love that he loves them! It was a fin read for him and a great way to help with our summer reading!

A fun adventure book told in diary-form about Ann, a teenager around 1870s, in England, that has a huge passion for bones and fossils. Ann writes down all the adventures and misfortunes she has while following her dreams of discovering even more exciting species of dinosaurs.

The character is inspired by Mary Anning, a famous fossil-hunter, and I love how throughout the book there are a lot of educational blurbs about famous fossil-hunters and dinosaurs. It is not only a fun book, but also educative and might instill a passion for dinosaurs in the little ones (if they don't have one already).

It's a fast paced adventure, filled with comedy and suspense as well!

- I will publish my review in the first week of September on my blog Cheeky Lines (https://cheekylines.wordpress.com/)

As a fan of paleontology i am very lucky that i came across this beautifully written book . This book is funny and knowledgeable for those who have interest in paleontology .

Ann is a young girl who lives in a small coastal town of England . She has huge interest in fossil hunting . Her father sells fossils to the tourists . One day a tourist from London who is known by Mr. Armstrong ,saw their stall wjere they were selling fossils . He bought all of the fossils and tell Ann how they were formed millions of years ago . From here start Ann's journey to London and then to New york and to the mid wests of United States . There she finds fossils that were never discovered before and took them with her and shows them to the scientists of the geological society . She learns new things during her journey and some bad experiences . But in the end she finds her way .

I recommend this book to all those who have interest in paleontology or like to watch dinosaur movies . Happy Reading

Ann is a teenager that is determined to prove that the bones she digs up are actual dinosaur fossils. Unfortunately, everywhere she goes, bad luck follows. Hopefully, digging up bones in the American West will change her luck.

This is part of the "Long-Lost Secret Diary" series, and Ann is based on the real-life work of Mary Anning. There are bits of humor in it appropriate for children and middle-grade readers, and a fair number of them will be angry on Ann's behalf for the way she's treated by the scientific minds of the day. The "Get Real" boxes provide context for the bones she finds and gives information about the dinosaurs and fossils. There is a glossary and a listing of the prominent paleontologists of the 1800's. Illustrations are cute and kid-friendly, in the same vein as the cover.

It's a very short and easy read, and a great way to get children interested in the stories behind the dinosaur finds.

Ann is a teenager living in 1870s England. She enjoys looking for dinosaur bones, and gets an opportunity to search for fossils in America. Ann seems to be a bit unlucky, but thinks her luck has changed with this opportunity.

Written as a diary, Ann recounts her travels across America with her conman father. Humorous, yet informative. I liked how the characters were inspired by real people, and dinosaur facts were featured throughout the book. At the end of the book is a brief history of dinosaurs, details about the people that were the inspiration for the characters, and a glossary. A good read for older kids.

This is the first of Tim Collins' "long-lost diary" series I have read, and this was a fun little book. The storyline isn't anything too amazing - but I enjoyed the fact that it was inspired by real-life people and events. I especially liked the nod given to Mary Anning. I quite enjoyed the "facts" interspersed throughout the book - although given this title would attract dinosaur enthusiasts, many of them seemed a little basic and contained information the target audience would already know.

I didn't really understand why Mary was "the world's worst" dinosaur hunter...she seemed pretty good at it to me!

This was over all a fun read, though at times felt a little slow.

In my opinion, it felt like it was missing a lot of details and actions. I could not get a clear picture of the surroundings or characters. However the descriptions of the bones and dinosaurs was handled really well.

I liked the main character. She was spunky, spoke up for herself and knew what she wanted to be and didn't let stuffy scientist guys stop her.

This is a fictional take on what if a little girl discovered some of the most known dinosaurs. The story was cute, there was segments that told the true facts of the dinosaurs she discovered, which I found really neat.

Any dino loving kid sound read this and hopefully it turns into a series of kids doing great things.

But, let's forget about age; anyone who enjoys middle grade may like this book. It is well written and if you like diary format, that is a plus. I also want to point out that I loved the artwork by Sarah Horne.

I just loved this book. I will definitely recommend it the children I teach. Factual yet fictional - brilliant!. The book is ideal for Key Stage 2 readers and will easily hold their attention.
The book is set in the time period of the discovery of dinosaurs and tells the story of a child and their father who finds fossils both in the UK and America.
I love that it''s fiction with historically accurate facts thrown in to give the reader further information.

This book packs in so much information in an engaging way! It talks not just about the fossil-hunting main character (a girl), but also about famous fossil-hunters and their finds, plus we see the prejudice against women and many aspects of life at that time (carriages, trains, ships, etc.). The story is interesting and there is a lot of learning included; my students would enjoy it. I highly recommend this book.

Can You dig It? I Knew That You Could.

This is a fine addition to Tim Collins' series of "Long-Lost Secret Diary..." books that include Knights, Astronauts, and Pirates, (I most liked the Pirate book). This time around we are in the company of Anne. Her character is inspired a bit by Mary Anning, a real person who prospected for fossils in the famous coastal fossil beds around Lyme Regis in England.

Our young Anne also looks for fossils on the coast of her little fishing village, but what she really yearns for is a chance to prospect in the Western United States, which was, in the 1870's in which this book is set, a hotbed of dinosaur fossil hunting. Taking a cue from the cut-throat competition between real life fossil hunters Edwin Cope and Othniel Marsh, our author has young Anne brave the sabotage and shenanigans of other fossil hunters during the course of her western adventure.

As in the other "Secret Diary" books, there is a nice mix of action, sly humor, slapstick, and suspense. There is also a good deal of real info, (historical bits, biographical sketches, and of course descriptions of great dinosaur fossil finds), that add a bit of weight and legitimate interest to the tale. The Collins heroes are plucky and determined, but often tend toward deadpan and even a bit put upon. It is left to supporting characters, (in this case Anne's Dad, some grumpy old scientists, and a monologuing villain), to provide the more obvious humor. I sort of liked having Anne be the most responsible and grown-up character in the bunch, and that gave the story a good deal of dignity and I guess what you could call light-hearted seriousness.

So, these are very interesting books, and they sort of break out of the usual antic or silly adventure mold. I would expect that they would be appealing to kids who like a bit of meat on their fictional bones, and they certainly are directed to kid friendly topics. (The illustrations are light and lively and help keep the book kid friendly as well.)

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Ann is a young girl living in a coastal British town during the Victorian era. She spends her days digging fossils, which had father tries to tell to tourists, from the coast. When a man of science comes across Ann's fossils, he sets in motion an adventure that will result in travel to America for Ann and her father, danger, and the discovery of multiple new dinosaurs. This book, which seems to be part of a series, melds cute, easy reading fiction perfect for children 8-11 or so with actual historical facts. A charming, slight and educational novel. Thanks to NeGalley and Jolly Fish Press for the ARC.

This was my first time reading a Tim Collins book and even though I don't fall into the age range for its intended readers I did really enjoy it. It was an easy, fun and light-hearted read that gave you a little thrill as the book progressed. I did start off pretty lost as to the when and where at the beginning of the book, but a simple stating of the year and the location at the start of every diary entry within the book is a quick fix for that. It was fun reading about a young girl getting excited not about the fame or the money of finding fossils and bones but just about finding them and learning as much as she can about dinosaurs from these bones; I also felt like I learnt more about Dinosaurs and fossils at the end of every chapter which is always great. I enjoyed the protagonist and her almost analytic recounting of events, and that she didn't let her youth or gender (especially for the time) deter her from pursuing her goal.
Thanks to Net Galley and the author for giving me an ARC (e-book) of this book in exchange for an honest review.