This wonderful book tells the story of Mary Anning who in the early 1800s lived in Lyne Regis, which is on the south coast of England.
Mary and her brother loved to roam the beach and find seashells and fossils. When Mary was 11 her father died and to help her mother and brother survive, Mary would sell these fossils to wealthy visiting tourists to buy food to eat.
One day she and her brother found a strange fossil. Like nothing they had discovered before. They dug out a huge skull and needed help to remove the whole body from the cliff. Mary meticulously cleaned the fossilised bones. What they had discovered had ‘flippers and a tail like a dolphin, but with the head of a crocodile – with huge eyes and very sharp teeth!’ When news reached London of their discovery, scientists wanted to see the strange creature and learn about where it was found. The scientists gave it the name of Ichthyosaur.
This fascinating book tells us how this curious girl would go on to search and discover important fossils throughout her life, selling them to the scientists and even opening a store which became a tourist attraction. She discovered a complete skeleton of a plesiosaur which was packed carefully in a box and transported to London. Scientists would write about the plesiosaur but not credit Mary. She was one of many women written out of history. She lived in and out of poverty her whole life and sadly died at the young age of 47.
Mary’s important story is broken up in the book with fold-out pages showing us timelines of the age of the dinosaurs and telling us what types of dinosaurs lived in what period. Beautifully illustrated with a great depth of fascinating information presented in a very engaging way, this is simply a book that every young budding naturalist must have.
Reviewed by Jane Stephens
Age Guide 6+
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