Books with author Chuck Knock

Mason Trumble was an eight year old boy who, like most kids, was fascinated by dinosaurs. Unfortunately, like many kids, he was also tormented by older boys who had started calling him a chicken. When Mason had finally had enough he came up with a plan that would shut those boys up for good. At the edge of town was a very scary haunted house that no one had dared to set foot in for decades. Mason's plan was to enter the house and bring something out to prove he'd been inside. Turns out that everyone who believed the house was haunted had good reason. He barely escaped from it with his life after finding the proof he needed in the cellar. What he had found was a map that showed the location of a long-forgotten treasure in a place called Dinosaur Gulch. Searching for buried treasure was something that Mason liked almost as much as dinosaurs, and what better place to search for loot than in a place named after them. When he finally located the treasure it wasn't quite what he had anticipated. It was a stone chest covered with mysterious symbols. Expecting it to be full of coins or jewels, he was surprised to find that it was full of little, golden dinosaur statues, also covered with strange symbols. The little statues weren't just gold; they were something else far more valuable and exciting, and Mason finds out by accident that they are powerful, magical amulets. While holding one of the statues in his hand he wishes he could become that particular dinosaur. To his utter amazement, with a whirlwind burst of magical golden light, he rapidly grows in size and shape and transforms into that dinosaur. Worried that he might spend the rest of his life as a prehistoric beast, he's relieved to find that the change is temporary (a little less than an hour) with no ill effects. He realizes that the treasure is far better than what he had hoped for; there are many different types of dinosaurs in the chest, and he has the power to become any one of them. In other words what he has discovered is every child's dream come true: he can temporarily become any dinosaur he wants to, from a ferocious tyrannosaurus rex to a flying pteranodon. As any kid would, he uses the magical amulets and has many adventures; some are even heroic. He's finally found out by his parents and the national media, but not before his little sister, Katie, gets in on the action, too. Mason's dream of fame and glory is fulfilled when he's referred to in the news as 'The Dinosaur Kid'.The book has over sixty-five color illustrations and has a glossary in the back which tells about and shows each dinosaur that Mason and Katie become. Mason is shown standing next to each one so that readers will get an idea of scale. It also includes a pronunciation guide and an illustration of the magical amulet for every dinosaur.

Mason Trumble is a brave 8-year-old who discovers a map to an extraordinary treasure. It sends him to a place called 'Dinosaur Gulch', and when he finally locates the treasure it's different from what he expects. It's not a wooden chest full of pirate booty, but a stone chest full of small, golden dinosaurs. Far more valuable than coins or jewels, the little statues are powerful, magical amulets with the ability to transform whoever is holding one into a dinosaur. Mason discovers this by accident when he stops to help a neighbor lady. While holding on to one of the amulets, Mason becomes a triceratops that's big and strong enough to easily push his neighbor's car out of a ditch. There are lots of different dinosaur statues in the chest --- and Mason has the power to temporarily turn into any of them, from a fearsome tyrannosaurus rex, to a flying pteranodon, to a colossal brachiosaurus. When he has turned into one, Mason has all the size, strength, and abilities of whatever dinosaur he has become. No kid could resist using the amulets, and of course Mason tries them out. After he carries out a few rescues, his little sister, Katie, gets in on the action. Just in time, too, as she saves her brother from bullies by turning into a tyrannosaurus rex. Their adventures culminate in a dramatic fashion when both work together as dinosaurs in front of hundreds of witnesses to save a couple of girls from drowning. An illustrated glossary that features each dinosaur that's in the story is at the end of the book. It includes a pronunciation guide and a picture of each dinosaur's magical amulet.