“Have you ever found something mysterious?
Something where you had no idea
What it was but you had a feeling
That it was important
That it held a secret?”

Mary Anning did
More than once
And this is her story
One that will inspire you
To look more closely
At the world around you
And to question
Everything you see
One that introduces you
To a young girl who
Whose passion and knowledge
Of fossil hunting
Made her one of the most
Important figures in early palaeontology
Mary Anning’s legacy
Was barely acknowledged
During her lifetime
It was not until 2010
The Royal Society
Included Mary in a list of
Ten British Women
Who most influenced
The history of science
And finally recognised
Her awe inspiring contribution

The Fossil Hunter tells readers
How Mary Anning
Unearthed The Truth About Dinosaurs

I love everything about this book
From the gorgeous cover
To the inky endpapers
From the timeline contents page
To the amazing panoramic fold outs
This is a book that keeps on beginning

The story starts over two hundred years ago
When Mary and her brother
Collected seashells and fossils
To help feed their family

As readers meet Mary
And learn her story
They also learn
About different types of
Fossils and curios

In 1811 Mary and her brother
Made a huge discovery
They uncovered an
Ichthyosaur
Fuelled by curiosity
Mary and other
Fossil hunters
Kept searching
The discoveries that they made
Helped us all to understand
The layers of history
That led to the world
As we know it today

As Mary continues
To unlock secrets
Of the earth
Readers learn how
The world was once connected
As one large landmass
PANGAEA
Readers also learn about
The Triassic Period
The Jurassic Period and
The Cretaceous Period

Mary’s story continues to unfold
As she discovers the complete
Skeleton of a plesiosaur
She was never credited for this discovery
In her lifetime
Mary was one of many women
And working class men
At the time
Doing great work
And making great discoveries
That were attributed to others

“The ability of wealthy men and women
To make scientific discoveries
Was only made possible through
The sacrifice and mistreatment of others.”

But Mary’s work never stopped
Her curiosity never wavered

“Wherever I have walked
On the beach in Lyme
Or even in the big and busy
City of London
I’ve always wondered
What could be buried
Beneath my feet
Living forms stomping
Growling and existing
Millions of years ago …”

I find Mary’s story
Such an inspiring one
I have written about her
And shared books about her before
But there is something about
The Fossil Hunter
That has made me think about her
All over again and the role
This one young lady
Played in everything we know
About the world today

I love her passion
And her curiosity
I love her wonderings
Her dreams of what
Life must have been like
When dragon-like creatures
Ruled the skies
Life in
“A more ancient Dorset”

Many have been caught up in
And inspired by Mary’s story
Including in 2018
Eleven year old Evie
Who campaigned for
A statue of Mary
To be erected in her hometown
Lyme Regis

I agree with Evie that
Mary Anning Rocks
And Kate Winter’s magnificent book
Will show young readers why
She who sold seashells on the sea shore
Was so incredibly special

The Fossil Hunter
Is a brilliant and beautiful book
An exquisite example of illustrated
Narrative nonfiction for children
And their grown ups
This is the story of
The life and legacy of Mary Anning

There are many books about
Mary Anning and
We have quite the collection
We love going to Dorset
And whenever we do
We learn a little more about Mary
And her discoveries
I think that
The Fossil Hunter
Is my new favourite Mary Anning book
And I know that my children agree

This is a book to treasure
Perfect for curious kids
Natural history enthusiasts
Fossil hunters and
Dinosaur lovers
Perfect for historians
And mighty girls everywhere

Mary Anning Rocks