ARC Review:

This was a quick and interesting read. There were lots of scientific drawings, sketches, pictures of real fossils and more to keep younger readers engaged. Mary's life was framed well and the story moved quickly. I enjoyed the quotes before each chapter.

Used this for our women’s study section with my students when we studied Mary Anning and it was perfect! Such a great book!!

A short, but detailed biography of Mary Anning and her major discoveries.

The text is straightforward, but at the same time, includes enough information to satisfy a curious UKS2 pupil. There are also illustrations of the creatures she found and quotes from letters she wrote herself or things contemporaries wrote about her, giving it historical accuracy.

This is a great little book for anyone who is interested in geology, dinosaurs, or life for women in 19th century England. It contains enough information to be more than a cursory account of Anning’s life, but not enough to overwhelm.

I review a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Author Cheryl Blackford gives us a thoroughly researched, exquisitely illustrated biography of Mary Anning, fossil hunter extraordinaire who scoured the treacherous beaches and hills of Lyme Regis, England, in the early 1800s. Although Anning's family life was filled with tragedies, she persevered to discover, prepare, and illustrate fossils and provide for herself and widowed mother.

Although many of Anning's writings were lost to neglect and time, Blackford thoroughly researches every interesting primary source available. The author manages to give us an intriguing and accessible account of Anning's life complete with timeline, glossary, and extensive bibliography.

I read this in one sitting. Highly recommended for teen and young adult students and anyone interested in unsung heroes of science, women who preserved, or paleontology.

I've preordered my copy which will be published in January 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley for lending the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC of Fossil Hunter by Cheryl Blackford. I love that the author showcases Mary Anning and her amazing fossil discoveries in the early 1800s. Mary was a trail blazer in fossil hunting in Lyme Regis, England because at the time women weren't supposed to be doing anything but be a house wife and mother. (I had heard of her because I read the historical fiction book, Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier.) Mary's family couldn't afford to pay for any schooling for her but she learned how to find fossils from her father. She made amazing discoveries of ichthyosaur and plesiosaur fossils and the male geologists and scientists studied them intensely to learn about how these animals and earth's rocks and layers evolved. Unfortunately, Mary never got the recognition she deserved until well after her death. In this book, there are amazing photos and illustrations that show you the fossils discussed. A glossary and timeline are also included that help with the technical terms and put Mary's accomplishments into context to what what happening around the world and after her death. There is also a nice resource of where you can find her fossils now since many of Mary's fossils and documents have been lost since she was female and no one took care of her legacy properly. I think upper elementary and middle school students would enjoy reading about this original paleontologist, Mary Anning.

Mary Anning is probably one of the most important figures in the early study of prehistoric life. Born and raised in a small seaside Victorian town, Mary grew up with a father who hunted for fossils along the beach. He then sold these fossils to supplement the family's income, something Mary continued after his death. Mary is credited with a lot of crucial discoveries that helped scientists further our understanding of prehistoric animals, but it was rare that she ever got credit during her lifetime. This middle grade age biography is great at hitting the highlights of Mary's life, giving hints of her personal life in addition to the great scientific achievements she had. The illustrations of the animals Mary unearthed are fantastic and a great addition to the story, as it often shows both the fossil and an artistic rendering. There's a lot of info packed in this relatively short book, but it's an interesting read and a great addition to any library's collection.

I've read several enjoyable fiction books about Mary Anning, but this is the first middle grade non-fiction book I've read about her. Blackford writes a well-researched, completely factual account that still reads like a good story. She paints a picture of the time period when when scientists (and avid amateur collectors), all men of course, were beginning to use fossils to understand prehistoric creatures that no longer exist, and then she recounts Mary's life and her amazing discoveries. Highly recommended for readers of any age interested in overlooked female scientists or in the history of how we learned about the prehistoric world.

This biography of Mary Anning is astounding! I’m not a big fan of nonfiction, and I was never a “dinosaur kid,” but this book enraptured me! It’s the perfect combo of interesting, narrative in framing, and enthralling that makes you want to keep turning the pages. It would be ideal for 3rd-5th graders. There is a timeline of Anning’s life, a glossary, a bibliography, and a list of where you can see Anning’s fossils in museums across the globe.