Presenting, for your enjoyment

BETSY-TACY AND PTERODACTYLS  by Theresa Jarosz Alberti

a FREE PDF Ebook

Betsy and Tacy are 12 years old, growing up in Deep Valley, Minnesota, in the early 1900s. They’re mostly used to having dinosaurs around, since scientific discoveries recently created this new reality. They share their town’s excitement when a traveling showman arrives one day with a dangerous exhibit in his trailer: a live Tyrannosaurus rex! What follows will change everything, forcing Betsy and Tacy to embark on an epic journey to Milwaukee to save their families and their town. Who will they meet along the way? Will they get the help they seek? And most importantly, will they solve the Deep Valley mystery in time?

It’s free, it’s fun, and no need to be a Betsy-Tacy fan to follow our young heroines on this adventure!

Note: Betsy-Tacy and Pterodactyls is a novel-length work of whimsical fanfiction based on the Betsy-Tacy series created by Maud Hart Lovelace (more about this in the book’s Preface).

\/  Scroll down to read an excerpt from Betsy-Tacy and Pterodactyls \/

---

Download your FREE copy of Betsy-Tacy and Pterodactyls here: Betsy-Tacy and Pterodactyls+

Instructions for Downloading and Reading this PDF Novel (click here)

---

And now for an exciting preview…

Excerpt {from Chapter 4}

Betsy saw it first and caught a new burst of speed, grabbing Tacy’s arm. She pulled her toward the narrow alley-way between the buildings. “Here, here! Let’s go in here!” she whispered loudly.

Teddy had already narrowed the distance between them to just one block instead of two. He saw them disappear and roared, the angry roar of a frustrated T-rex. Betsy hoped they would be out-of-sight, out-of-mind, and that since he could no longer see them he’d forget all about them, and just run away. Betsy and Tacy crept along the cool brick wall to the safest place, half-way down the alley. They stood there breathing hard again, their breath sounding way too loud in their ears. Tacy held her hand up in front of her mouth. “I can’t stop breathing so loud,” she said, her blue eyes quivering with fear.

“I know,” said Betsy softly, still breathing hard herself. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. We’ll be fine. He can’t get in here.”

The alley was blessedly narrow, just big enough for two girls to stand shoulder to shoulder. Even in the daylight, it was dark and dingy, since only a narrow slice of light could filter down there. Betsy and Tacy were as still as they possibly could be, not moving a muscle. They watched the opening, could hear Teddy’s slowed-down footsteps, could feel the pounding as the huge beast put all his tons of weight down with each step. Would he continue onward, his small animal brain just too ineffective to remember much?

Ah, but such was not the case. When it came to being a predator and stalking his prey, Teddy was a master of remembering. He looked and made a questioning, groaning gurgle. He sniffed and kept his head low, searching, searching, turning his head this way and that. Perhaps his sense of smell was so developed that he was sniffing them out like a bloodhound. When his big snout finally came into view of the alley-way, he made a loud higher pitched shrieking noise, a “Eureka, I’ve found you!” kind of yell. His big yellow eyes gleamed at them like burning candles, and he tried to get inside the alley, pushing his head into the opening, stretching and pushing again.

Betsy and Tacy held their breaths…

“Oh no!” shrieked Tacy. “Betsy, what are we going to do?” She was grabbing onto Betsy’s sleeve, wringing it in her hands.

Somehow Betsy found a place of inner calm, knowing that she needed to be composed to help out her friend. Both of them panicking just wouldn’t be good. Betsy took some deep breaths and slowed down everything, her breathing, her pounding heart, her adrenaline-soaked body.

“It’s okay, Tacy. He can’t get us here,” she said, though both of them secretly knew that they really didn’t know anything. Teddy just might be able to get them, but thinking about that now wouldn’t help. “We’re between these two strong and tall buildings. We’re safe.”

Tacy closed her eyes, and Betsy could see that she was trying to calm herself too. She nodded her head and took deep breaths. In a few minutes, she said, “Okay. Do you think we just wait here, then?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s anything else we can do,” said Betsy. So the girls settled in to wait, until at least the next day.

Throughout the night, Betsy and Tacy sat quietly listening. They were hearing other alarming noises now too, sounds of destruction, crashing noises, further away in town. They heard roars and growls, more than just what Teddy would make.

They looked at each other with alarm, eyes big and brows furrowed. What was going on? Were other dinosaurs entering town now too? What was happening to Deep Valley now, and their family and friends?

There was nothing to do now but wait.

 

Click here to download the PDF novel: Betsy-Tacy and Pterodactyls+

 

I offer this ebook novel to you free, truly no strings attached. If you feel so moved to make a donation to me for my writing efforts, I will gratefully accept a contribution of any size, one dollar or more.  Please use the “send money to family and friends” option after clicking the Paypal button. No expectations. Thank you!

 

** The lovely cover art was made by Bob Alberti. He went above and beyond, using inspiration from the old-fashioned Betsy-Tacy covers. I love it!