In the end, we are all reduced to the fossil record. What matters most is all that comes before.
In the summer of 2023, one of the hottest on record, B.J. Hollars and his nine-year-old daughter Ellie embarked on a two-thousand-mile road trip to complete the Montana Dinosaur Trail, a fourteen-stop trail consisting of museums, state parks, and dinosaur dig sites throughout a state known for its Mesozoic-era fossil record. Throughout their two-week journey, they dig fossils, learn from amateur and professional paleontologists, and forge a bond even stronger than the dinosaurs they love.
Join B.J. and Ellie on a road trip that spans not just miles but millennia. With every stop, they deepen their understanding of dinosaurs, extinction, and what the fossil record might teach us about how best to preserve our planetary home. Together, father and daughter strive to answer the vital question of our age: Can we humans evolve fast enough to ensure our own survival?
Charming, thought-provoking, and full of discovery, Dinosaur Dreams is a time-traveling adventure that reminds us of what truly matters: the bonds we forge, the world we inherit, and the future we fight to protect.
Press & Praise
Praise "A fun travel book about dinosaurs and those who love them. This will have a powerful appeal to paleontology enthusiasts, and readers' interest in science's history in the American West.""
--Library Journal
"In Dinosaur Dreams, Hollars [has] penned an enduring love letter that resonates through the mysteries of deep time..."
--Simmons Buntin, Satellite: Essays on Fatherhood and Home
"Dinosaur Dreams invites us to be the welcomed third passenger with Ellie and B.J. on their paleontological adventure. Along the way, the concepts, people, and sites we’re introduced to—not to mention some incredibly cool dinosaurs!—will deepen anyone’s appreciation for paleontology.” --Emily Graslie, host of PBS’s Prehistoric Road Trip
"Dinosaur Dreams is the perfect serotonin boost for the modern era. A dive into the history and lesser-known politics of paleontology through the lens of a father-daughter road trip. With humor and vulnerability, this book celebrates the connections we forge on the open road and our shared fascination with dinosaurs.” --Joseph Frederickson, lead paleontologist and manager of Natural Sciences Collections at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
"Even just one road trip with a trusted adult can have lasting effects on a kid, let alone experiencing the whole Montana Dinosaur Trail! Dinosaur Dreams is a wonderful reflection of this, creating memories by exploring the recent and ancient history of our planet.”
--Kallie Moore, cohost of PBS Eons
"Far enough in the future, Hollars concludes, we’ll all be fossils – which makes it all the more important to savor the moments we have in the here and now."
