“My name is Nate Twitchell, but I can’t help that. It’s kind of a funny name, but I’ve had it for twelve years, and I’m pretty much used to it by now.”

The novel’s first line functions as an introduction to its protagonist and narrator, 12-year-old Nate Twitchell of Freedom, New Hampshire. “Funny” names and their mispronunciations will figure prominently in the novel, as Nate learns about triceratops, the Mesozoic and Jurassic eras, and his great-uncle John Beazley. Using unusual or evocative names is a convention in MG literature to add humor and interest for young readers.

“For about a week I noticed that one of the hens was looking pretty queer. She had swelled out quite a bit, and was lopsided, and her feathers stuck out all over, the way a hen gets when she’s too worried to smooth herself down. Pop thought she was just broody and wanted to set, and he told me to keep shooing her off the nest, but I had an idea it was something more than that.”

When Nate notices one of the family hens acting strangely, he wonders if there might be something wrong. Pop, however, argues that the hen will soon settle. Pop’s dismissiveness foreshadows Nate’s long-term struggle against skepticism; at this early stage, Nate must cope with adults who simply don’t believe him, symbolizing Perseverance in the Face of Adversity. Luckily, Nate’s intuition encourages him to keep faith.

“‘Nothing good, I’m certain of that,’ Mom said. ‘It would probably be something horrible. But just remember, if it’s a crocodile or a dragon or something like that, I won’t have it in my house for one minute.’”

In stressing her wariness of the egg, Mom voices her characteristic fear of the unknown. Though Mom doesn’t really expect a dragon or crocodile to emerge, her guesses foreshadow what eventually hatches: a Triceratops, which despite her protests becomes a fixture in her home.