Mary Anning: The Fossil Hunter

by Dennis Brindell Fradin, Tom Newsom (Illustrator)

A biography of the young English girl who made a major fossil discovery at age eleven and grew up to be one of the world's foremost fossil hunters

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1997

About the author

The award-winning author of nearly 300 non-fiction books for children and young adults, Dennis Fradin is known for his meticulous research, attention to detail and smooth, graceful writing.

Fradin attributes his success in part to years of teaching in the Chicago Public Schools. In order to hold his second graders’ attention at the end of the day, he would spin stories about crayons in distress and birds with broken wings. One such story caught the attention of an editor who asked him to write a series of books about the United States. The Sea to Shining Sea series (Children's Press), launched Dennis's career as a full-time author.

Dennis Fradin has written children's books on topics as varied as astronomy, colonial history, the Underground Railroad, slave escapes and scientific discoveries. He has written biographies of Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Jane Addams and Louis Braille, among others. Bound for the North Star is his riveting collection of true slave escape stories. The Power of One: Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine, co-authored with his wife Judy, was a Golden Kite Honor Book.

Dennis has collaborated with Larry Day on two picture books, Let It Begin Here! and Duel! with Walker Books. He's completed two dozen Turning Points books for Marshall Cavendish. Along with his wife Judy, Dennis wrote Five Thousand Miles to Freedom for National Geographic Children's Books, followed by their Witness to Disaster series.

Reviews

[Congetta · Rating 2 out of 5]

For some reason this particular biography bored me. I thought it would be more interesting, especially with her chosen passion and field. Another reviewer thought she didn't sound feminist enough, I thought she sounded too feminist. I really can't imagine a young girl in the early 1800s telling a bunch of guys to come pick up and carry a huge fossil back to town and then take all the credit for it. Plus there didn't really seem much to her story, based on the way it was written. Perhaps because she died in her 40s, she didn't get to make much of an impact. My son wasn't really impressed either.

[Amara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book about Mary Anning had "new" interesting tidbits into her early childhood that are usually glossed over in other biographies. Also, some focus on Joseph, her brother. I could really do without this as Mary is somewhat of a feminist icon in science/anthropology. Most Anning books focus on her contributions and not what the men around her did for her. And sadly, this gave me that vibe:(

Mary Anning Fossil Hunter
by Sally M Walker is much better.

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very well done biography about Mary Anning. The illustrations were beautiful and detailed. I have read a lot of Mary Anning biographies but I still learned some new information from this one. I like that it included several quotes from her friend and mother.

[Charles]

I read this because I am looking for a children's book about Mary Anning to read to kids as part of a day-camp I'm putting together for the YMCA.

If I wasn't looking for something to read to a large group of kids, and instead looking for something to read to one child, I would absolutely pick this one. It's beautifully written, and really sells Mary Anning as an amazing person, the likes of which one is lucky to meet, but it's simply too long for a large group, especially one with little kids who are going to need words explained to them and active engagement throughout the storytelling experience. If I ever have kids of my own, I'm going to remember this one.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully illustrated non-fiction picture book about a young girl who greatly contributed to science and the early discovery of fossils. Mary Anning’s tale is one of determination, passion, and shows no matter what your age, gender or station in life you can achieve much.