If you like: historical fiction, The Edge of Extinction, Jacqueline Woodson, Jurassic Park
Do you know what’s better than Middle Grade historical fiction?
Middle Grade historical fiction with dinosaurs.
Older has perfectly fused dinosaurs into 1860’s New York. Brachiosauruses are used by the fire department, sauropods have been sent out to carry supplies and soldiers around Civil War battlefields, and “it was only a few years ago that New York had passed a law granting black citizens the right to dinoride.” As if the dinosaurs didn’t make the kid inside of me giddy enough, Magdalys, the Cuban main character, finds out that she can communicate with them.
And Magdalys is a perfectly imperfect heroine to root for. She’s hard-headed and has an impulsive nature that constantly gets her into trouble, but she also possesses the strength and compassion needed to get herself out. One of my favorite parts of Dactyl Hill Squad is how she pushes and pulls against the other kids from the Colored Orphan Asylum. They’re all different and prone to arguing, but are tied together by their fears and hopes.
While there are plenty of shiny parts in Dactyl Hill Squad—dinosaurs and explosions and a properly creepy villain—I love that the book doesn’t stray from the terrible reality of racism and class during that time period. It sometimes comes in little moments, like how the women at the orphanage try to change Magdalys’ name into the more white-sounding Margaret, and it also comes in wallops, like when the kids witness the aftermath of a lynching.
It’s the perfect sneaky way to teach history to Middle Grade readers. The Colored Orphan Asylum was a real place, burned down in the New York Draft Riots. Frederick Douglass makes a fun appearance, and Older accompanies old lingo with present slang to give it context.
Dactyl Hill Squad is very fast-paced. Older doesn’t spend much time on the details, but still manages to make the world feel palpable and vivid. There’s always a looming sense of danger for Magdalys and her friends, which makes the quiet scenes feel just as important as all of the action sequences. This is the perfect book for reluctant readers (and voracious readers, and readers in-between).
The best thing about Dactyl Hill Squad is that it features kids with a lot of heart: kids who are brave in the face of adversity, who support each other, and fight for a better future. They create the change they want to see, and I hope that the kids who read about them will feel inspired to do the same, even if they don’t get to ride pterodactyls around town.
"Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel Jose Older; Arthur A. Levine Books; Sept. 2018.
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