Dinosaur Hunter

Wyoming in the 1880s was a wild place for fossil hunters — real scientists hired collectors who sometimes cut corners, and the competition was fierce. Elaine Marie Alphin drops ranch boy Ned right into that world. When he discovers a Triceratops skeleton, a rival fossil hunter tries to swindle him out of it for a single silver dollar, and Ned has to decide what his find is actually worth. The blend of paleontology, horseback ranch life, and Bone Wars history gives this Level 4 I Can Read book a genuinely distinctive feel, and the integrity-under-pressure theme lands cleanly. The Oppenheim Gold Award is well-earned. The plot is simple and dialogue-heavy, as Kirkus noted — but for capable young readers who love both dinosaurs and history, it punches above its format.