Martin J. Gottlieb Day School

Mrs. Loeser’s 1st Grade Class
2011-2012

Based on Mary Pope Obsorn’s

“Dinosaurs in the Dark”
from the
Magic Tree House Book Series

Podcast Script
Audio file available on MJGDS iTunes Podcast Channel
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mjgds-podcast-channel/id375749044
  
Dinosaurs  Before  Dark  Interview  ................................................................................................................  3  
Chapter  1  ..............................................................................................................................................................  4  
Chapter  2  ..............................................................................................................................................................  5  
Chapter    3  ..............................................................................................................................................................  6  
Chapter  4  ..............................................................................................................................................................  7  
Chapter  5  ..............................................................................................................................................................  8  
Chapter  6  ...........................................................................................................................................................  10  
Chapter  7  ...........................................................................................................................................................  12  
Chapter  8  ...........................................................................................................................................................  13  
Chapter  9  ...........................................................................................................................................................  14  
Chapter  10  .........................................................................................................................................................  15  
 
 
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dinosaurs  Before  Dark  Interview  
   
Chapter 1
 
Interviewer:     Who  are  you  and  how  do  you  know  each  other?  
Annie:   I  am  Annie  and  this  is  Jack.    I  am  7  years  old  and  Jack  is  8  1/2  years  old.    We  
are  brother  and  sister.  
 
Interviewer:   Where  do  you  live?  
Jack:   We  live  in  Frog  Creek,  Pennsylvania.    (frog  ribbit)  
 
Interviewer:   Why  did  you  go  into  the  woods?  
Annie:   I  was  pretending  that  there  was  a  monster  chasing  us.    So  I  wanted  us  to  run  
away  from  it.    But  Jack  didn’t  want  to.      (monster  noise)  
 
Interviewer:     Do  you  like  to  pretend,  Jack?  
Jack:       No.    I  like  real  things  and  not  to  pretend.  
 
Interviewer:     What  did  you  find  in  the  woods?  
Annie:   I  found  a  very  big  oak  tree  that  had  a  rope  ladder  that  led  to  a  tree  house.        
(footstep  sounds  in  leaves)  
 
Interviewer:   Where  did  the  tree  house  come  from?  
Jack:   I  am  not  sure.    We  have  never  seen  it  before.  
 
Interviewer:   Why  did  you  go  into  the  tree  house?  
Annie:   I  was  very  curious  about  it!  
 
Interviewer:     What  was  inside  the  tree  house?  
Annie:   I  saw  a  lot  of  books.    I  called  Jack  to  come  up  because  he  likes  books  a  lot.  
 
Interviewer:   Why  do  you  like  books  so  much,  Jack?  
Jack:   I  like  to  read  because  I  can  learn  so  much  and  it  is  exciting  and  fun.      (pages  of  
a  book  turning)  
   
Chapter 2
 
 
Interviewer:       What  did  you  find  in  the  tree  house?  
Annie:     We  found  a  bunch  of  books  with  dusty  covers  and  ones  with  new  shiny  
covers.    (sound  of  hand  brushing  over  a  surface)  
 
Jack:   There  was  a  dinosaur  book  that  Annie  thought  I  would  like.    And  there  was  a  
book  about  castles  that  Annie  would  like.      (squeaky  door)  
 
 Interviewer:   Did  you  open  the  books?  
Jack:   Yes  I  did,  even  though  I  knew  they  did  not  belong  to  me.    I  opened  the  book  
about  dinosaurs  because  I  like  reading  about  them.    (dinosaur  roar)  
 
Interviewer:   What  happened  next?  
Annie:   The  wind  started  blowing  really  hard  and  fast.  The  tree  house  started  
spinning.    (fast  spinning  wind)  
 
Interviewer:   Were  you  scared?  
Jack  &  Annie:   YES!    We  were  VERY  scared!    (soft  scream)  
 
Interviewer:   Then  what  happened?  
Jack:   The  tree  house  got  really  really  still.  (silence)    
 
Annie:   I  looked  out  the  window  and  I  saw  a  monster  flying  towards  us.  (flapping  of  
wings…possibly  hands  rhythmically  hitting  desk)  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  it  look  like?  
Jack:   It  had  very  big  bat-­‐like  wings,  a  long  weird  crest  on  the  back  of  his  head  and  a  
skinny  beak.  
 
Interviewer:   This  creature  was  flying  in  Frog  Creek,  Pennsylvania?  
Annie:   No.  The  tree  house  had  landed  in  a  tree,  but  not  in  the  same  woods  in  
Pennsylvania.    (gently  crashing  on  landing  sound)  
 
Chapter 3
 
Interviewer:       What  did  you  see  out  the  window?  
Jack:     We  saw  that  the  world  outside  was  exactly  like  what  was  in  the    picture.      
Annie:       There  was  a  volcano,  some  ferns  and  tall  grass,  and  a  stream  outside.    
(babbling  brook;  volcano  eruption)  
Jack:           And  then  we  saw  a  pteranodon  flying  around.  
 
Interviewer:       I  didn’t  know  that  pteranodons  are  still  alive!  
Jack:       They  aren’t.    I  read  in  the  book  that  they  lived  about  65  million  years  ago.      
Annie:       So  the  wind  must  have  carried  the  tree   house  back  in  time.    (wind  blowing  
briskly)  
 
Interviewer:       Did  you  stay  inside  the  tree   house?  
Jack:       I  tried  to  tell  Annie  not  to  go  out,  but  Annie  didn’t  listen  to  me.  
 
Interviewer:     What  did  you  do  Annie?  
Annie:       First  I  shouted  to  the  pteranodon  because  it  looked  so  nice.    Then  I  climbed  
down  the  ladder  to  see  it.  (footsteps)  
Chapter 4
 
Interviewer:       What  happened  when  you  climbed  down  the  ladder,  Annie  
Annie:         I  touched  his  crest  and  stroked  his  neck.    (brushing  sound)  
 
Interviewer:         What  did  the  pteranodon  feel  and  look  like?  

Annie:     He  was  fuzzy.    He  felt  soft  like  our  neighbor’s  dog  Henry,  so  I  decided  to  name  
him  Henry  too!    (giggle)  
Jack:           His  crest  was  long  and  bony.  
 
Interviewer:         What  did  you  do,  Jack?  
Jack:       I  took  notes  like  a  scientist  would.  (pencil  writing  on  paper)  
 
Interviewer:         What  did  you  write  about?  
Jack:     I  wrote  that  it  had  fuzzy  skin,  if  his  brain  was  small  like  a  bean  and  that  his  
mouth  moved  up  and  down  like  a  scissors.  (scissors  opening  and  closing  or  
hands  clapping)  
 
Interviewer:       Why  were  you  taking  notes?  
Jack:       I  guessed  we  are  probably  the  only  people  who  have  ever  seen  a  real  
pteranodon.    I  didn’t  want  to  forget  anything  we  saw.  
 
Interviewer:     Did  you  see  anything  else?  
Annie:   We  saw  a  volcano  and  a  huge  dinosaur  on  the  hill.  (volcano  erupting)  
Chapter 5
 
Interviewer:     Oh  my!    What  did  you  do  then?  
Jack:   We  raced  back  up  into  the  tree  house.  (running  and  stomping  very  fast)  
 
Interviewer:     Did  the  dinosaur  come  chasing  after  you?  
Annie:       No,  the  dinosaur  stayed  on  the  hill  eating  flowers.  
Jack:   Then  I  knew  that  we  WERE  back  in  time!  (crunching,  munching  noise  made  by  
crumpling  paper)  
 
Interviewer:     What  did  the  dinosaur  look  like?  
Annie:       It  was  VERY  big!    It  was  bigger  than  a  truck!    
Jack:   It  had  3  horns,  two  long  ones  above  his  eyes  and  one  on  his  nose.  
Annie:   There  was  a  big  shield-­‐like  thing  behind  his  head.  
 
Interviewer:   What  kind  of  dinosaur  do  you  think  it  was?  
Jack:   I  knew  it  was  a  triceratops,  so  I    looked  it  up  in  the  dinosaur  book.  (book  
turning  pages)  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  the  book  say?  
Jack:   The  Triceratops  lived  in  the  late  Cretaceous  period.    It  was  a  plant-­‐eating  
dinosaur.  
Annie:   It  weighed  more  than  twelve  thousand  pounds.  
Jack:   I  was  so  happy  that  it  didn’t  eat  people!  (yeah!  clapping)  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  you  do  next?  
Annie:   I  told  Jack  we  ought  to  go  see  it  and  take  some  more  notes.  
Jack:   So  we  went  out  of  the  tree  house  to  look  around.  (footsteps)  
 
Interviewer:   Was  the  pteranodon  still  around?  
Annie:   He  was  still  there.    He  stared  at  us  kindly.    I  blew  him  a  kiss.    (kiss,  blow,  
giggle)  
 
Interviewer:   Did  you  go  back  to  the  tree  house?  
Jack:   No,  I  started  writing  notes  about  the  Triceratops.  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  you  write?  
Jack:   I  wrote  that  it  eats  flowers  and  eats  slowly.    Then  Annie  started  to  run  
toward  the  big  dinosaur  and  I  tried  to  stop  her.  
 
Interviewer:   Did  you  get  close  to  the  Triceratops?  
Annie:   Pretty  close.    But  I  realized  that  it  was  very  nice.    It  didn’t  bother  me.    It  gazed  
at  me  and  then  walked  away.  
 
Interviewer:   Was  there  anything  else  around?  
Jack:   Yes,  I  found  a  gold  medallion  in  the  grass.    It  had  an  engraved  M  on  it.      I  guess  
someone  had  been  here  before  us.  
   
Chapter 6
 
Interviewer:     What  did  you  do  with  this  medallion?  
Jack:   I  tried  to  show  it  to  Annie,  but  Annie  was  on  the  top  of  the  hill  picking  
magnolia  flowers.  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  you  see  on  the  hill,  Annie?  
Annie:   When  I  was  picking  the  flowers,  I  saw  nests  filled  with  eggs  in  the  valley  
below.  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  these  nests  look  like?  
Annie:   The  nests  were  really  big  and  made  out  of  mud.    They  were  filled  with  baby  
dinosaurs.    There  was  a  gigantic  duck-­‐billed  dinosaur  standing  over  me.  
 
Interviewer:   How  did  you  feel  when  you  saw  this  dinosaur  standing  over  you?  
Annie:   I  was  VERY  scared!  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  you  do,  Jack?  
Jack:   I  told  Annie  not  to  stand  up,  but  to  crawl  very  slowly  toward  me.    (scooting  
sounds…maybe  softly  hitting  legs  like  steps)  
 
Interviewer:   Did  you  get  away  safely?  
Annie:   Not  really!    The  duck-­‐billed  dinosaur  kept  following  me  and  still  kept  making  
loud  bellowing  noises  like  a  tuba.      (sounds  of  a  tuba)  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  you  children  do  next?  
Jack:   We  crawled  a  little  bit  more.    I  told  Annie  to  bow  her  head  and  pretend  to  
chew?    (chewing  sound)  
 
Interviewer:   Why  did  you  want  to  pretend  to  chew?  
Jack:   I  read  that  when  you  are  close  to  a  mean  dog,  you  get  down  and  chew.  
 
Interviewer:   Did  it  help?  
Annie:   Yes  it  did  help  very  much.    The  dinosaur  got  quiet.    I  guess  she  wasn’t  mad  at  
us  any  more  because  now  we  were  away  from  her  babies.  
 
Interviewer:   Did  the  mother  dinosaur  leave?  
Jack:   No,  Annie  started  feeding  her  the  magnolia  flowers.    
Annie:   When  I  ran  out  of  flowers,  she  made  a  sad  tuba  sound.      (sad  tuba  sound)  
 
Interviewer:       Then  what  happened?  
Annie:   I  ran  up  the  hill  to  get  more  flowers.  
 
Interviewer:   Did  the  dinosaur  follow  you?  
Annie:   Yes,  she  waddled  after  me.  
  
Interviewer:   Did  you  go  up  the  hill  also,  Jack?  
Jack:   No,  I  didn’t.    I  examined  the  babies  and  I  wondered  where  their  mothers  
were.    Then  I  pulled  out  my  research  book  and  found  out  that  these  
dinosaurs  live  in  colonies.    Some  mothers  baby-­‐sit,  while  other  mothers  go  to  
find  food.    I  figured  the  other  mothers  must  be  nearby.  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  you  do,  Annie?  
Annie:   While  I  was  feeding  flowers  to  the  Anatosaurus,  she  started  running  down  
the  hill  because  she  was  afraid  of  something.      
 
Interviewer:   What  did  she  see?  
Annie:   She  saw  a  Tyrannosaurus  Rex  coming  across  the  plain.  
 
 
   
Chapter 7
 
Interviewer:   Were  you  scared?  
Annie:   Yes,  I  was  VERY,  VERY,  VERY  scared!    Jack  told  me  that  we  needed  to  run  
down  the  hill  to  the  tree  house.    (gasping  sound)  
 
Interviewer:   Did  you  get  there  safely?  
Annie:   Yes,  we  got  there  safely  and  we  made  a  wish  that  we  could  go  back  to  Frog  
Creek.  
 
Interviewer:   So  you  left  the  valley  then?  
Jack:   No,  we  couldn’t  get  back  because  we  didn’t  have  the  dinosaur  book.    I  had  left  
my  backpack  and  the  book  up  on  the  hill.  
 
Interviewer:   Did  you  go  back  to  get  it?  
Jack:   Yes  I  ran  back  past  the  Pteranodon,  through  the  ferns  and  tall  grass  and  I  
found  it  up  on  the  hill.  (running  sounds)  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  you  see  when  you  were  up  on  the  hill?  
Jack:   When  I  picked  up  my  things,  I  saw  the  Anatosauruses  all  standing  around  
their  nests  to  protect  their  babies.  
 
Interviewer:   So  did  you  go  back  to  the  tree  house?  
Jack:   No,  first  I  ran  down  the  hill  to  get  my  backpack  and  the  dinosaur  book.    I  
heard  the  Anatosauruses  bellowing.  (loud  tuba  sounds)  
 
Interviewer:   Why  do  you  think  the  dinosaurs  were  bellowing?  
Annie:   They  were  making  those  loud  noises  to  warn  Jack  that  the  T.  Rex  was  close.    I  
think  they  were  trying  to  protect  my  brother.  
 
Interviewer:   Did  you  see  the  T.  Rex,  Jack?  
Jack:   No,  not  at  first.      But  when  I  raced  back  up  the  hill  to  get  to  the  tree  house,  I  
saw  it.  The  T.    Rex  was  between  me  and  the  tree  house.    I  stopped  and  
FROZE!!!    (running  and  then  complete  silence)  
 
 
   
Chapter 8
 
Interviewer:   Did  the  Tyrannosaurus  Rex  see  you?  
Jack:   Luckily  he  didn’t  see  me.    He  was  opening  and  closing  his  jaws.    His  teeth  
were  as  big  as  steak  knives!  (our  teeth  chewing  or  opening  and  closing  our  
jaws)  
 
Interviewer:   So  what  happened  next?  
Jack:   I  looked  in  my  book  to  find  out  about  more  about  the  T.  Rex.    But  it  didn’t  
give  me  any  information  to  help  me.    It  said  it  could  eat  a  human  in  one  bite!!    
I  tried  to  stay  calm.  
 
Interviewer:   Did  the  T.  Rex  go  away?  
Annie:   No  it  didn’t.    Actually,  he  started  getting  closer  to  Jack.      But  I  had  an  idea.    I  
climbed  down  the  rope  ladder  to  talk  to  the  Pteranodon.      
 
Interviewer:   What  did  you  say  to  the  Pteranodon?  
Annie:   I  asked  if  he  could  fly  over  to  pick  up  Jack  and  bring  him  back  to  the  tree  
house.  
 
Interviewer:   That  was  a  splendid  idea,  Annie!  
 
Jack:   The  Tyrannosaurus  Rex  then  started  coming  toward  the  hill.    I  could  feel  the  
ground  shaking.    (heavy  steps)  But  just  then,  I  saw  a  giant  shadow  covering  
me.  
 
Interviewer:   Was  it  the  T.  Rex?  
Jack:   No,  it  was  the  Pteranodon  flying  over  me.  (flapping    wings  made  by  hitting  
your  legs  slowly)    
 
 
   
Chapter 9
 
Interviewer:   What  did  you  do?  
Jack:   I  thought  I  was  too  heavy  to  get  on  the  Pteranodon,  but  I  said  to  myself,  don’t  
think……just  do  it!  
 
Interviewer:   Why  did  you  want  to  get  on?  
Jack:   I  got  on  because  the  T.  Rex  was  getting  too  close,  so  I  wanted  to  get  to  a  safer  
place.  
 
Interviewer:   Where  were  you  Annie?  
Annie:   I  was  in  the  tree  house,  but  I  saw  Jack  sitting  on  the  Pteranodon’s  back.    At  
first  it  teetered,  but  then  he  steadied  himself  and  flew  toward  the  tree  house.  
 
Jack:   It  was  AMAZING!!!!!!!    I  loved  it  so  much.  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  it  feel  like?  
Jack:   I  felt  like  a  bird.    I  was  as  light  as  a  feather.    I  laughed  because  it  was  so  much  
fun.    I  couldn’t  believe  I  was  flying  on  the  back  of  an  ancient  flying  reptile!    
(laughing  sounds  and  wings  flapping)  
 
Interviewer:   Where  did  it  take  you?  
Annie:   The  Pteranodon  brought  Jack  back  to  the  treehouse.    When  Jack  got  off,  the  
Pteranodon  flew  away.    I  heard  Jack  whisper,  “Bye,  Henry”.  
 
Interviewer:   Weren’t  you  glad  you  were  finally  safe?  
Jack:   I  really  wasn’t  safe  yet.    The  T.  Rex  was  coming  toward  me.  
Annie:   I  shouted  to  Jack  to  hurry  up  the  ladder  because  T.  Rex  was  getting  really  
close!    Then  I  heard  loud  noise  and  the  tree  house  started  to  shake  like  a  leaf.  
(slamming  sound  and  rustling  paper)  
 
Interviewer:   Then  what  did  you  do,  Jack  and  Annie?  
Annie:   I  told  Jack  to  make  a  wish.  
Jack:   But  I  had  to  find  the  Pennsylvania  book  first.    I  finally  found  it  and  searched  
really  fast  to  find  the  photograph  of  Frog  Creek  woods.    (flipping  pages)  
 
Interviewer:   Did  you  find  it?  
Jack:   Yes,  and  then  I  shouted,  “I  wish  we  could  go  home!”  
 
Interviewer:   What  happened  then?  
Annie:   The  wind  started  to  pick  up  and  we  heard  a  whistling  sound.    Then  the  tree  
house  started  to  spin  faster  and  faster.    (whistling  sound  of  wind)  
Jack:   I  closed  my  eyes  and  grabbed  on  to  Annie  really  tightly.  
Jack  and  Annie:   Then  everything  went  still.    ABSOLUTELY  STILL!  (TOTAL  SILENCE!)  
 
  
Chapter 10
 
Interviewer:     Where  did  the  tree  house  take  you?  
Jack:   It  took  us  to  the  exact  same  woods  that  were  in  the  picture.    
Annie:   The  time  was  the  exact  same  time  as  when  we  left!  
 
Interviewer:   So  then  what  did  you  do?  
Annie:   We  heard  our  Mom  calling  us  in  for  dinner.  (Lady  calling  JACK,    ANNIE)  
 
Interviewer:   Did  you  leave  the  tree  house  right  away?  
Jack:   Not  immediately.    We  tried  to  figure  out  what  had  happened  to  us.    How  did  
we  go  so  far  and  so  long  ago?    (uhhhhmmmmm)  
Annie:   There  were  so  many  books  around,  and  I  reminded  Jack  that  he  had  wished  
to  go  to  the  place  he  saw  in  the  picture.  
 
Interviewer:   Did  you  bring  back  anything  from  the  dinosaur  land  to  remember  where  you  
had  been?  
Jack:   I  brought  back  the  gold  medallion  that  I  found.    It  had  an  “M”  engraved  on  it.  
Annie:   I  think  the  “M”  stands  for  MAGIC  PERSON!  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  you  do  next?  
Annie:   We  heard  our  mother  calling  us  again.  
Jack:   So  I  put  the  book  back  with  the  other  books  and  then  we  climbed  down  the  
rope  ladder.    (book  dropping  on  a  stack  of  books  and  then  footsteps)  
 
Interviewer:   What  did  your  parents  and  friends  say  when  you  told  them  about  your  
amazing  trip?  
Annie  and  Jack:   We  didn’t  tell  anybody.  
 
Interviewer:   Why  not?  
Jack:   We  knew  no  one  would  believe  us!    They  would  think  that  we  made  this  
whole  story  up.  
 
Interviewer:   Would  you  ever  go  back  to  the  woods  again?  
Jack  and  Annie:   Yes,  we  want  to  go  back  to  the  tree  house  again  tomorrow.    It  was  really  
incredible!