Author Guest Post with Paula Louise Salvador

Two young dinosaurs from opposite sides of the floodplain bump into each other by chance. He’s a small meat-eater, and she’s a big plant-eater. They’ve got no parents, no food, no friends. They’re supposed to be enemies, but they decide to stick together instead. It’s not easy.

Welcome to the October 18th stop on the blog tour for Trygg the Dinosaur by Paula Louise Salvador with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, author guest posts & interviews, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

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Author Guest Post

I’ve always loved listening to animals, and they often have a lot to say. This makes a good base for stories, particularly for kids. Young readers know right away that it is worth paying attention to what animals are talking about.

In TRYGG THE DINOSAUR, when we meet the little two-legged, clawed meat-eater, he has just hatched from his egg.

“He found the strength to pull himself up. His legs wobbled a bit, then they settled, and he stood for the very first time.

‘Anybody there?’ he called out.

No one answered. He was alone.”

Trygg’s first words still tug at my heart. And they remind me of our neighbours’ cat when I was a young girl.

There were only three houses where we lived, surrounded by potato and onion fields on the shore of Lake Erie. Cat Bootsie belonged to the family next door. There were three boys and one little girl, aged three. She loved to pick Bootsie up, as best she could, and normally Bootsie didn’t complain too much. But then Bootsie disappeared. Nobody had seen her for days. Then one morning, my mother heard Bootsie frantically meowing at our back door. Bootsie called and called and wouldn’t move. My mother had always been a good cat listener, so she asked her what was wrong. Bootsie turned and started walking toward the woods on the other side of the farmer’s field. My mother followed, and Bootsie kept telling her to keep up. She led her just inside the trees. There, slightly hidden under some fallen leaves, were four newborn kittens, Bootsie’s family.

My mother told Bootsie to stay there, and that she would come back with a basket to carry all of them to our neighbours’ home.

My mother kept her word, and she and Bootsie became friends forever. I often heard them talking to each other in the backyard.

In TRYGG THE DINOSAUR, the animals are all different – meat-eaters, plant-eaters, plucky little mammals and huge tyrannosaurs. They have to find the courage to express what they feel. And they have to learn to listen to what others are saying. It is a tough world out there.

Alta the duckbill herbivore dinosaur ends up in a dangerous situation when she attracts the attention of three sharp-toothed carnivore Albertosaurs (an earlier version of T.rex).

A giant turtle gives Alta a warning about his close encounter with the same predators.

“‘It was those Albertosaurs at the creek. They almost had me this morning. Look what they did.’

She leaned down and saw the long, narrow scratches that ran the whole length of his shell. ‘Oh my, you were lucky to get away.’

‘That’s for sure. I managed to dig myself under the rocks, and I kept my head tucked in. They didn’t stick around—probably went looking for something worth the effort.’

The turtle set off across the sand then called back to Alta, ‘I’d get out of here if I were you.’”

Alta followed the turtle’s instructions, just like my mother followed Bootsie the cat’s meows to come and save her little kittens. It’s worth paying attention to what animals have to say.

About the Book

Trygg the Dinosaur
by Paula Louise Salvador

Published 31 January 2019
Tellwell Talent

Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
Page Count: 114
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

Two young dinosaurs from opposite sides of the floodplain bump into each other by chance. He’s a small meat-eater, and she’s a big plant-eater. They’ve got no parents, no food, no friends. They’re supposed to be enemies, but they decide to stick together instead. It’s not easy. When she gets caught with him, she ends up banished from her herd. He faces a huge rival who could stomp him out with one back foot. They have to outsmart a gang of bullies with sharp teeth and long, curved claws. And they struggle to survive the natural disasters of drought, mudslides and a bubbling tar pit. Worst of all, when they lose contact with each other, they fear betrayal. What if their friendship has been broken?

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Excerpt

On the other side of the lake, the surrounding cliff quivered. A chunk of dark grey earth slid off the slope and gushed through the water. Barely ahead of the mud, another Troödon was running, kicking water into the air. He jumped onto the sand just before the sludge buried the shore behind him. The animal lurched forward then pulled up short. He was huge, bigger than the whole nest.

The little Troödon stretched both arms out. “Take me with you!”

The big Troödon leaned over, but instead of lifting him up, he placed a long clawed finger on his small head and pushed him roughly down, right on top of the closest egg.

“Hey!” the little dinosaur sputtered from the mess of smashed shell and sticky yolk. “That’s no way to help a friend.”

The big Troödon fixed his fierce yellow eyes on him, quickly sizing him up. “I got no time for friends,” he yelled as he sprinted off the island. His deep voice carried back over the water. “You’re on your own, runt.”

The little Troödon knew that he had to save himself. A mass of clay, stones and broken sticks was rising fast around him. He planted one foot in the base of his nest, then he hooked the strongest toe claw of his other foot into the rim. He pushed off and jumped out just before the mud surged over the edge and buried all the other eggs.

“Run!” he cried. “But where?”

About the Author

Paula Louise Salvador has had great adventures as a documentary film maker and writer. The scariest was when she stood under the ribs of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton – in the dark! The most fun was filming dinosaur dig-sites from a helicopter. On the dangerous side, she had to dodge alligators in Mississippi – and keep all fingers and toes out of the water.

Paula has met fascinating people, particularly jazz legend Oscar Peterson and composer Philip Glass, who performed in her show on electronic music.

In “BUILD GREEN” for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “THE NATURE OF THINGS”, Paula and Dr. David Suzuki visited rock star Randy Bachman’s super sustainable house. (He played his guitar for us.)

Finally, it was a tiny dinosaur that captured Paula’s heart. For her documentary “DINOSAUR BABIES The North American Story”, Paula held the fossilized egg of a little Troödon. He was curled up inside, just about to hatch. (His leg bones looked like a chicken’s.) That’s where Paula’s story of Trygg begins.

Paula has a Masters in French Literature from l’Université de Provence, France and a Bachelor of Arts (including Children’s Literature) from McGill University, Canada.

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Giveaway Alert!

Paula Louise Salvador will be awarding $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.