Cam Jansen & Mystery of the Dinosaur Bon by Suzanna David/Natti Adler Read Free Book Online Page A

weighed over fifty tons. That’s more, I’m sure, than all the children in your whole school weigh together.”
    Then the guide led the class to another dinosaur skeleton. It was much smaller than the Brachiosaurus. Its mouth was open and its hands were stretched out as if it were ready to grab something to eat.
    “Look at those teeth,” someone in the class said.
    “And look at that tail. It’s so long and pointy.”
    “This is the skeleton of a Coelophysis,” the guide said. “Seel-o-fy-sis,” she said again slowly. “Now you may know about some dinosaurs, but I’m sure no one knows anything about the Coelophysis.”
    “I do,” Cam said.
    Everyone turned to look at Cam. They were surprised that she knew about the Coelophysis. Ms. Benson had never mentioned it when she taught the class about dinosaurs.
    Cam had read about the Coelophysis. She wanted to remember exactly what the book said. She closed her eyes and said, “Click.”
    When Cam said, “Click,” the guide started to laugh. She covered her mouth with her hand.
    “The Coelophysis,” Cam said with her eyes still closed, “was one of the first dinosaurs. It was about eight feet long, including its tail. It weighed no more than fifty pounds. It was a meat eater and . . .”
    “Yes, thank you,” the guide said before Cam had a chance to finish. “What you may not know is that these bones were discovered by Dr. Kurt Daub, the scientist who started this museum.”
    “Are people still finding dinosaur bones?” Eric asked.
    “Yes,” Ms. Tyler answered. “I’ll be going on a dinosaur hunt in a few weeks, and I hope to find some myself.”
    Someone else asked, “Are all those bones real?”
    “No. Dr. Daub didn’t find a complete skeleton. Some of these bones were made from plaster of Paris.”

    There were many other questions, but Cam stopped listening. She was busy studying the dinosaur’s tail.
    “Something is wrong,” she whispered to Eric.
    Cam closed her eyes and said, “Click.” She kept them closed for a while. Then she looked again at the dinosaur’s tail.

    “I was right,” Cam said to Eric. “Something is wrong. Three of the dinosaur’s bones are missing.”

Chapter Three
    Cam raised her hand and tried to get the museum guide’s attention. But Ms. Tyler looked past her.
    The guide pointed to a boy wearing a suit and a bow tie. “You have a question.”
    “I want to know why they are called dinosaurs.”
    Ms. Tyler smiled. “The name ‘dinosaur’ comes from two words, ‘dino’ which means ‘terrible,’ and ‘saur’ which means ‘lizard.’ So when we call them dinosaurs, we are really calling them terrible lizards.”
    “What did dinosaurs eat?” another boy asked.
    “Some ate meat. Some ate plants, and some ate the eggs of other dinosaurs.”
    Then the guide looked at Cam. She smiled. “It seems that the red-haired girl, the one who says, ”Click,‘ has a question.”
    “What happened to the tail?” Cam asked. “The last time I was here, it had three more bones. They were right here.”
    Cam pointed to the part of the tail near the hip. Farther down, there were bones that hung down from the tail like ribs. Where Cam pointed there weren’t any bones.
    “There’s nothing missing on this dinosaur,” the guide said quickly. “Now, are there any other questions?”
    “But there are some bones missing. I’ve been here before and—”
    “I’m here every day, and this skeleton looks the same as it always does.”

    The guide answered a few other questions. Then she told Ms. Benson that the tour was finished, and she walked away.
    Ms. Benson was a short woman. She stood on her toes so the whole class could see her.
    “It’s still early,” Ms. Benson said. “You have an hour to go through the museum by yourselves. At two-thirty all of you must be in the front lobby. If you don’t have a watch, please stay near someone who does.”
    “Let’s go to the gift shop,” Eric said to Cam. “I want to