Dinosaurs Before Dark

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1992

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-7

Chapters 8-10

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Magic Tree House

The magic tree house is central to the series itself, symbolizing imagination, education, and learning as Jack and Annie travel through time. In Dinosaurs Before Dark, the children first stumble upon this mystery and quickly discover that there is more to meet the eye when it comes to this structure that appears in Frog Creek woods. By the time the siblings return from the Cretaceous Period, they’re hooked on whatever adventures await them in the magic tree house, suggesting a future of learning and discovery ahead of them.

Annie calls the tree house “the highest tree house in the world” (3), and while she is likely exaggerating, her words demonstrate the awe she feels as a child looking up at it. Annie, unafraid and daring, races inside and stumbles upon another mystery: who built it? Jack’s curiosity stops his efforts to get her to come down, and he soon “gripped the sides of the rope ladder and started up” (6). The presence of the books in the treehouse offers evidence that whoever owns the tree house and its contents is well-read and curious, just like them. However, at this point in the series, Osbourne offers little information about this mysterious person beyond the books, the tree house, and the medallion.

The author is careful to emphasize that the tree house always follows the same pattern of motion when traveling through time. First, the “wind start[s] to blow” (13). Then, the tree house begins rotating. Finally, “everything was still. Absolutely still” (13). Osbourne uses this repetition as a device to show that Jack’s wishes are working and that the tree house does not just randomly pop up in places. Instead, it is purposeful, rushing in as a cyclone and then becoming still.

Pteranodon

The Pteranodon is the first dinosaur that Jack and Annie see, and Osbourne foreshadows its presence as a “monster” by Annie’s joke to Jack that there is a monster in Frog Creek woods. Ironically, it will be this creature that saves Jack from the Tyrannosaurus rex at the end of the novel. In many ways, the flying creature is symbolic of their trip to the Cretaceous Period, as it is the first and last dinosaur with which they interact, even going so far as to appear when Jack first makes his wish to go see dinosaurs.

The Pteranodon also serves a very practical purpose within the novel as it helps Jack and Annie settle into the fact that they’ve done the impossible and ventured millions of years into the past. It seemingly welcomes them, and Annie uses its presence to emphasize to Jack that “[h]e’s very real” (17), dispelling Jack’s thought that he’s imagining what’s happened to them. Furthermore, Annie can also approach and touch the Pteranodon without being in danger, helping her to acclimate to the new setting. Likewise, Jack takes his very first notes on dinosaurs about the Pteranodon, writing that it has “fuzzy skin.”

Finally, it is also the Pteranodon that helps Jack take his leap of faith, flying him over the Tyrannosaurus rex to the tree house. Being in the sky on the Pteranodon also helps Osbourne review the events of the book, “sail[ing] over the hilltop,” “circl[ing] above all the duck-billed dinosaurs,” and “soar[ing] over the plain—over the Triceratops” (59). Before Jack returns to his time, he receives a reminder of all that he and Annie saw and experienced. This moment thrills Jack and helps him feel more adventurous and ready to return to the tree house the next day.

Books

From the start, it is apparent that Jack and Annie value books and reading. However, the author also makes it clear that the books that appear in this story are guides for their adventure back in time and their return home to Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. Books become a recurring motif throughout the text.

For Jack, books are what first lure him into the tree house, as he’s hesitant to trespass even after Annie climbs the ladder. Yet, her emphasis that “[i]t’s filled with books!” is met with a resigned “Oh, man!” (6). In this moment, the author shows that Jack is near-powerless to the presence of books as he starts up into the tree house. He also tries to find help in books once they do travel back in time, looking up real facts that Osbourne peppered throughout the story. The author’s inclusion of these tidbits highlights that people can learn so much from reading and use that knowledge in real-life scenarios (even if they aren’t visiting dinosaurs).

The author also shows that not only Jack enjoys books. The narration points out that the siblings can recognize the Frog Creek library from the tree house, suggesting that they’ve been there enough to be able to pick it out from other buildings. Annie initially grabs one about castles, illustrating her shared interest in them. Ultimately, it is also a book that returns Annie and Jack home: the one about Pennsylvania with the photo of Frog Creek woods. Altogether, the books that appear in Dinosaurs Before Dark symbolize learning opportunities.