School Library Journal Starred Review (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2005)

K-Gr 4 An action-packed science-fiction romp starring a cast of dinosaur characters. When a mysterious object lands on one of Jurassica's moons, Captain Raptor and his crew set out in their spaceship to investigate. After narrowly escaping several dangerous situations, they land on Eon's surface and discover that an unfamiliar vessel has crashed nearby. During a tense confrontation between the dinosaurs and the newcomers, the alien leader is suddenly swept away by a winged "pteraspikadon." Captain Raptor quickly engages his blastobooster, rockets into the sky, and saves him. After properly greeting the human visitors and helping them get under way, the crew returns to the Megatooth and heads out for another adventure. Presented in comic-book style, this story blends an eye-catching layout with a quick-moving plot, tongue-in-cheek humor, and an imaginative setting. The text has a melodramatic tone that suits the tale perfectly. While much of the watercolor and gouache artwork consists of sequenced rectangles, occasional single- and double-page paintings open out the format and highlight important moments. The dinosaurs, who wear funky-looking space gear and have an endless supply of gadgets, are a blast. The bespectacled Professor Angleoptorous is part beast and part robot, while toothy Captain Raptor, in his shiny and spiky armor, has a real hero's elan. Sci-fi fans and dinophiles will eat this book up, and it might also capture the interest of reluctant readers. Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal

Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2005)

When a mysterious UFO lands on Jurassica's moon, Captain Raptor and his dinosaur crew investigate. Their spaceship crash-lands in the moon's ocean, is attacked by Octocolossus, then they meet earthling spacemen--one of whom Captain Raptor rescues from a giant Pteraspikadon. The vivid, dramatic comic book-style illustrations are more successful than the simple story, which lacks personality and suspense.

Kirkus Reviews

Young readers drawn by the gloriously toothy dinosaur posing on the cover of this tongue-in-cheek space opera may be astonished to discover that he's the episode's hero. Dispatched from Planet Jurassica to investigate a mysterious crash on a nearby moon, intrepid Captain Raptor (as in velociraptor) and his scaly crew weather a host of dangers—repeatedly punctuated by variations on "Could this be the end of Captain Raptor?"—before coming to the rescue of a stranded set of small, tail-less mammalian aliens. O'Brien illustrates the nonstop action in graphic-novel style, filling variously shaped panels with detailed scenes of colorful dinosaurs in retro body armor working riveted control panels, creeping through a jungle and similarly appropriate activities. In the end, Captain Raptor bids farewell to the grateful travelers from Earth and blasts off for some space exploration of his own. Readers not yet up to James Gurney's "Dinotopia" tales will roar with approval. (Picture book. 6-8)