Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Fossil Hunter: How Mary Anning Changed the Science of Prehistoric Life by Cheryl Blackford - ESSENTIAL

Fossil Hunter: How Mary Anning Changed the Science of Prehistoric Life by Cheryl Blackford
, 128 pages. BIOGRAPHY Clarion Books, January 2022. $18 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

Mary Anning lived in Victorian England in a small village called Lyme Regis where she searched the cliffs at low tide for fossils, discovering some of the richest fossil beds, and beautifully intact specimens of her time. Anning sold most of her discoveries to support herself and her family, many to private collectors. She made a lifetime career in paleontology, and although today Anning is a celebrated and important paleontologist, during her lifetime her discoveries were credited to others and she was not welcomed into the scientific community. 

 I read this in egalley (thank you Netgalley) so I can't tell much about the physical book. It appears to be picture book size, with a colored illustration on the cover, however, the interior illustrations and photographs are amazing and intended for an older reader. The text is engaging and exciting.  Includes colored illustrations, photographs of contemporaries and artifacts, a timeline, glossary, where to see Mary Anning's fossils and a thorough bibliography. I'm anxiously awaiting my copy, as I can't wait to talk it up.

Lisa Librarian

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