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Rex

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By: Fred Yager

Rex by Fred Yager (2002)

$28.95 Hardcover

$15.95 Trade paperback

Foreign sales: Serbia

A remarkable adventure about an unusual friendship in which a young boy, whose paleontologist parents are missing, finds himself in possession of something long believed to be extinct.

Detailed Information

Published or Reader Reviews

"The author, a screenwriter, has presented a very visual story that’s fast-paced and full of action...This book will be enjoyed as a fun read, especially for reluctant readers…"

—School Library Journal

"11-year-old Davy Ross' paleontologist parents go missing from a dig on Mount Kilimanjaro, and he finds a mysterious egg among their belongings. When a tiny dinosaur hatches, Davy has to protect him from an unscrupulous professor, return the tyrannosaurus to its jungle home and locate his missing parents."

—Publishers Weekly

"I enjoyed Rex a lot. I liked the characters and how they were drawn, and the pacing of the book is terrific."

—R.L. Stine, best-selling author (Goosebumps series)

"Fred Yager takes our fascination with dinosaurs to a new level with a story of trust and a young boy's belief in the impossible. Mixed with a bit of mystery, it's sure to charm readers of all ages."

—Lelia Taylor, Creatures 'n Crooks Bookshoppe

"This novel is simply fun. A good read."

—Bob Spear, The Book Barn

“Wow, what a page turner! I couldn’t wait to see what new heights and adventures Rex and Davy were in for next. A must read."

—Julie Fitch, San Clemente Library

"This book is so good. I have not had a chance to read a children’s book in a very long time and if half the books out there are as good as this, I am going back to reading kids books! …I really fell in love with Davy and hope there will be many more adventures with him."

—Robyn Glazer, Myshelf.com

Book Excerpt

Margaret Ross missed her son Davy more than she ever imagined. He was going to be eleven years old in two weeks and neither she nor her husband would be there to help him celebrate the occasion.

Instead, Sam and Margaret Ross were stuck on the side of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa looking for a legendary dinosaur graveyard. So far, all they'd been able to find were a few fossil imprints and hardly any fossilized dinosaur skeletons. Margaret was starting to wonder if the whole thing was a hoax, designed to make her employer, the Natural History Museum of New York, look stupid.

She also began to think that maybe they made a mistake leaving Davy back in Manhattan with his grandmother. Sam had wanted to bring him along, but Margaret felt uneasy. They had never been to this part of the world before, and they weren't sure what they might find or how they would be reeived. Not everyone liked it when strangers dug up their land, and that's precisely what Sam and Margaret did. They dug up the land wherever they went.

Sam and Margaret Ross were paleontologists, studying all things prehistoric. A good part of their job involved digging and even called their expeditions "digs."

They had been in Africa for almost a month and, so far, the dig had been a bust. Margaret tried to convince Sam to give up the search and go home. The idea that a mass dinosaur graveyard existed in the area was pure speculation anyway.

Just over one year earlier, a nearly intact skull of a Tyrannosaurus was discovered in the Sahara desert to the north. A few months later, scientists found more fossilized dinosaur skeletons in a line that pointed from the Sahara toward Mount Kilimanjaro. This prompted the theory that a caravan of dinosaurs searching for food and water had traveled across a large part of Africa and may have stopped at Kilimanjaro for a bite. It was Margaret's belief that 60 million years ago Mount Kilimanjaro was probably an active volcano and would not have offered much in the way of food.

Two more weeks of searching around the base of the mountain had only produced a few fossil imprints of dinosaur tracks, but no fossilized skeletons. Margaret resumed her campaign to end the expedition.

"If we left now," she said, "we might even be able to make it home for Davy's birthday."

"But we're close," said Sam. "I can feel it."

"Even if we are," Margaret persisted, "how could we possibly find anything? This is a jungle. We're near the equator. Whatever was here 50 or 60 million years ago has long since evolved into the ecosystem. No fossils, just fossil fuel."

Sam was about to respond when his attention shifted to something over Margaret's shoulder.

"What?" asked Margaret as she turned to see where her husband was staring.

As soon as she saw it, she knew they were not leaving.

Through the tall trees and across a wide gorge, about halfway up the western slope, was a valley in the clouds. Shrouded in an eerie white mist, it looked timeless, mystical, and full of wonder.

"That's it!" cried Sam. "That's what we're looking for."

Margaret just shook her head.

"You know I'm right," Sam continued. "All the best paleontology discoveries occur around geological anomalies. A valley in the clouds, Margaret! It's a perfect example of a geological anomaly. We'll make it up to Davy. I promise."

Looking at the valley, Margaret felt a sense of dread. She had her own thoughts about anomalies. An anomaly was something that shouldn't be. And Margaret believed in her heart that she and her husband should not be in that valley. Something about the place disturbed her. She just couldn't put her finger on it. The only word that came to mind to describe the feeling was "primeval."

As it turned out, Mount Kilimanjaro was full of geological anomalies. It was Africa's highest peak, rising to nearly four miles above sea level. Its crest was snow-covered all year round, yet it was only a short distance from the equator, traditionally the warmest spot on the planet. Because of its location and size, the mountain contained a variety of ecosystems ranging from tropical rain forest jungles to frozen ice caps.

After a half-day's hike, Sam and Margaret found a small patch of land overlooking the valley. They had the crew set up base camp with the mountain rising up on one side and a steep drop to the valley in the clouds on the other.

While Margaret assembled her equipment, Sam made preparations to go down into the valley.

"It's getting late, Sam," said Margaret. "Can't this wait until tomorrow?"

"I just want to take a quick look. I'm not even taking any digging equipment with me."

"But we only have a few hours of daylight left."

"I'll be back in two hours, tops," he said, grabbing a small backpack. He kissed her cheek and headed off.

As paleontologists go, Sam and Margaret made a good team. She was a whiz with computers and Sam loved to dig. So while he did most of the manual labor, she analyzed the results on sophisticated computers and carbon meters.

Dressed in matching khaki Hunting World outfits, they looked like members of the same army. Only instead of weapons, they carried scientific instruments and digging tools.

Sam was tall and lanky with the bleach blond hair of a surfer, even though he'd never attempted the sport. Margaret had the prettiest face Sam had ever seen, and a smile that always made him feel warm inside.

Since they enjoyed each other's company more than anyone else's, going off for months at a time was never much of problem. But then Davy was born and things changed. While Sam still wanted to be in the field all the time, Margaret's maternal nesting instincts took over. She would stay home with the baby while Sam went off on his own.

When Davy was six, they started bringing him along. In fact, this was the first time in nearly four years they had left him behind, and now Margaret was sorry they did. This particular region of Africa turned out to be a very friendly place and the Tanzanians welcomed them.

Davy would have loved Africa. With all the animals roaming around, it was like living in a zoo. Monkeys scurried through the trees like squirrels, gazelles ran in herds like deer while giraffes and zebras were as plentiful as horses.

Margaret finished setting up her gear and stepped out of the tent the Tanzanian crew had erected. She looked out over the mysterious valley, wondering what was hidden down there beneath the clouds.

She checked her watch. Sam had been gone for only an hour. It seemed longer. Normally, Margaret enjoyed time alone with her gadgets. But she suddenly felt lonely and a little frightened.

There was only an hour of light left before sunset and as she looked out over the valley, she saw lightning flash on the horizon. A storm was coming.

Down beneath the clouds, near the floor of the valley, Sam found himself in a tropical rain forest full of lush green plants and wildlife. This both excited and discouraged him. It excited him that such a thing could exist at this altitude but it also depressed him. He knew that if this were the location of the legendary dinosaur graveyard, any remains would have long since deteriorated in the hot humid climate.

After about an hour, all Sam found were a few bones of an animal that could be related to dinosaurs, but since these bones had not fossilzed they were probably only a few thousand years old. Deciding to check on them anyway, he collected some samples and put them in his backpack.

Sam was about to begin the climb back to camp when he tripped over a rock, landing face-first in the moldy, damp earth. He started to push himself up when he saw something next to the rock, partially concealed by a large green leaf. He pushed the leaf aside and found a brownish colored, oval-shaped object about the size of a large softball.

An egg. A fairly large egg. He quickly looked around to see if any crocodiles were lying about. Looking closer, he began to feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. This was no crocodile egg. He reached out and touched it. An extra layer of leathery substance covered the shell. It suddenly occurred to Sam that he had only seen eggs like this in books. A mixture of excitement and concern made him feel dizzy. This can't be possible, he thought. He reached down and gently picked up the egg. It felt warm. Something moved inside. He put the egg to his ear and listened.

About the Author

Fred Yager

Fred Yager is a business television producer, communications executive, and screenwriter as well as the author of six nonfiction and fiction titles including the novels Rex and Cybersona and co-author of two career books published by Facts on File, Inc.: Career Opportunities in the Publishing Industry and Career Opportunities in the Film Industry. Fred grew up in a small town in upstate New York with Hannacroix Creek flowing right behind his family's house. He has lived in Texas, California, New York City, and, since 1990, in Fairfield County, Connecticut with his wife Jan and their two grown sons. Fred's previous jobs include 13 years at the Associated Press as a reporter, entertainment writer and film critic, and 14 years at Merrill Lynch including seven years in charge of their business television division. In addition to his book and screenwriting projects, Fred runs his own communications company, World News and Information Network, Inc.

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Foreign, Subsidiary & Film Rights

A translation of Rex into Serbian is in preparation.
For all other languages, please direct your inquiries to: foreignrights@hannacroixcreekbooks.com. Our company maintains an active network of highly-regarded and prestigious foreign agents in most major territories; in territories where we are not represented by a foreign co-agent, we deal directly with foreign publishers.

To excerpt or reprint any portion of Rex, contact the permissions department: permissions@hannacroixcreekbooks.com

For paperback or book club considerations, send your inquiry to: subsidiaryrights@hannacroixcreekbooks.com

For film rights, send your inquiry to: filmrights@hannacroixcreekbooks.com

Contact information:

Hannacroix Creek Books, Inc.
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Stamford, Connecticut 06905 USA
Hannacroix@aol.com
Fax: 203-968-0193
Phone: 203-321-8674

Media Kit

To book author Fred Yager for a TV, radio, or print interview, or for an author event at a bookstore or library, send an e-mail to the publicity department at Hannacroix Creek Books: publicist@hannacroixcreekbooks.com or fax (203) 968-0193. (For time sensitive requests, our phone number is: 203-321-8674.)

If you are a member of the media, contact the publicity department to access the press release and sample interview questions for REX.

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