Books to Celebrate Dinosaur Month

 October is National Dinosaur Month and I’ve got three great books that are perfect for young paleontologists!

Themes: dinosaurs, nonfiction, biography

Dinosaurs Can Be Small 

by Darrin Lunde; illus. by Ariel Landy 

32 pages; ages 3-7

Charlesbridge, 2024

 A Brontosaurus raises its head above a ginkgo tree. It is a long-necked dinosaur. But not all long-necked dinosaurs are big.

Many dinosaurs, it turns out, were small. Some as tall as you, others no taller than a Barbie doll. And that’s okay, because sometimes smaller is better. Smaller dinos needed less food to fill their bellies. They could survive eating insects. They could climb trees. And when the large dinosaurs were wiped out by a giant meteor, it was the small dinos that survive.

What I like about this book: I like the compare and contrast structure. On one spread Darrin Lunde introduces a large dinosaur – Tyrannosaurus, Tricerotops, Pterodactyl (not really a dinosaur but a close relative). The next spread highlights a tiny dino-relative. Back matter shows each dino with an explanation about their name.

She Sells Seashells: Mary Anning, an Unlikely Paleontologist 

by Heidi E. Y. Stemple; illus. by Emily Paik 

40 pages; ages 5-9

Charlesbridge, 2024

Mary Anning was an unlikely paleontologist. Especially unlikely for England in the early 1800s.

Because she wasn’t really a paleontologist at all. She was just a girl who collected fossilized seashells to sell in her family’s seaside shop. Back then, girls could collect things – they just couldn’t study them. Girls didn’t go to school, and they certainly didn’t become scientists. But Mary did.

What I like about this book: I like how Heidi Stemple shows the patience and persistence of Mary Anning as she chipped and dug fossils and bones from cliffs and stones. I like the use of repetition of some phrases such as, “Chip! Scrape! Chip!” I particularly like how she portrays Mary: unconcerned about those “rich boys” and “educated men” because she had fossils to find, and was too busy educating herself. Back matter dives a bit deeper into Mary’s life and the fossils she discovered. Plus, we learn about another Mary who lived just 150 miles away who was also digging up fossils! (And who, like Mary Anning, never got the credit for her discoveries.)

Mary Anning and Paleontology for Kids: Her Life and Discoveries, with 21 Activities 

by Stephanie Bearce 

134 pages; ages 8-12

‎Chicago Review Press, 2024

It is only fitting that Stephanie Bearce, a fossil-collecting, award-winning author, write about a girl who loved fossils. She begins with Mary Anning’s early life, fossil-hunting with her father, to Mary’s discovery of her first skeleton. Stephanie shows hoe Mary painstakingly removed the fossilized bones from the shale and how those bones, bought by a wealthy man, wound up in a museum. Mary did more than dig up bones, though. She cleaned them, figured out how to put them together in a complete skeleton, and creates detailed scientific illustrations about her finds. 

What I like about this book: Scattered throughout the book are sidebars that dive into details about aspects of life in the 1800s as well as the hands-on activities. Young readers can try their hand at making a fossil imprint, creating their own scientific illustration, and doing their own fossil extraction. I especially like that there’s an entire chapter devoted to female fossil finders and one on modern paleontology. 

Beyond the Books:

Make some dinosaur footprint cookies. You’ll need a plastic dinosaur or two… here’s the recipe.

Make a paper bag dinosaur puppet. All you need is a paper lunch bag, some construction paper, scissors, glue, and imagination. But here’s how one person made their puppets.

What kind of dinosaur are you? Gentle giant or fierce meat-eater? Here’s a quiz from the London Museum of Natural History that will reveal your true dino-heart.

Check out TrowelBlazers, a site that highlights the contributions of women in the ‘digging’ sciences: archaeology, geology, and palaeontology. 

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. 

On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading.

Review copies provided by the publishers.

Fighting about Fossils...

I grew up in the land of Dinosaur skeletons. I loved to visit the natural history museum at the University of Utah just so I could walk through the dinosaur exhibit and imagine those thunderous creatures stomping across the hillsides. What I didn’t know – and didn’t learn until much later – was how much our exhibits depended on a war… a Bone War! So I was delighted when this book came out just a couple months ago…

The Bone Wars: The True Story of an Epic Battle to Find Dinosaur Fossils 

by Jane Kurtz; illus. by Alexander Vidal 

40 pages; ages 3-8

‎Beach Lane Books, 2023

theme: biography, paleontology, fossils,

In 1863 two smart, bold young men met for the first time. They had a lot in common. O.C. Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope were fascinated by science.

They tromped around fossil beds together and even named fossils after each other. Friends forever, right? Until…

Marsh pointed out a mistake Cope had made in describing Elasmosaurus. Cope had attached the skull to the tail end, and Marsh was delighted to point out this error! From now on it was all-out competition to see who would make the next big fossil discovery. No more working together for these two. Instead there was trickery! Espionage! Skullduggery!

What I like about this book: Young paleontologists will love reading about the race to discover new dinosaur fossils and the work it takes to get them out of the rock and into museums. The discoveries Cole and Marsh uncovered inspired other scientist to look for bones as well as eggs, skin, footprints – even fossilized poop (called coprolite, in case you’re wondering). Even now paleontologists are out in the field searching for more bones and fossilized dino-bits.

Then there’s the story of two dedicated scientists who could have been great, but ended up destroying their lives in a bitter rivalry that grew into the Bone Wars. What could they have accomplished had they worked together?

Back matter includes notes from the author and illustrator, who remind readers that scientists are learning more about dinosaurs every day. And there’s a list of resources and suggested reading for curious kids who want to dig deeper.

Beyond the Books:

Think like a paleontologist with the educators at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. This 20-minute video encourages viewers to make close observations, form a hypothesis, and use information from fossils to understand more about extinct creatures. There’s also a visit to the Fossil Prep Lab to learn how fossils are prepared for research and display.

Check out these fun activities from the Los Angeles Natural History Museum – from coloring pages to dying dino-like eggs to making your own fossil. 

Plan how you could tackle a huge project that needs to get done. Maybe it’s cleaning out the garage, or mowing and raking the yard. Would it be better to have someone help you? How would you divide the work? When things don’t go smoothly, how might you solve disagreements? Once you’ve thought things through, gather your team and tackle that project.

Here are reviews of other books about paleontologists:

Fossil Huntress: Mary Leakey, Paleontologist, by Andi Diehn

Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist, by Linda Skeers

The Dinosaur Expert, by Margaret McNamara

Here We Go Digging for Dinosaur Bones, by Susan Lendroth

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by Blue Slip Media.

Books for the Beach, Backyard or ....

 When folks ask, “hey, would you like to review this book?” very often I answer Yes without taking into account the books Already Piling Up in my book basket. So this week I’m sharing three books I think would be fun to take on a road trip, or just to the park to read with kids – or to enjoy for yourself while drinking something cool and refreshing as you rock in a hammock slung between two shady oak trees. Because, really, who doesn’t love reading a fun picture book now and then?

It just so happens that all three were published by Charlesbridge this year.

Theme: Fossils, Math, STEAM

Here We Go Digging for Dinosaur Bones 

by Susan Lendroth; illus. by Bob Kolar

(Board book)

Here we go digging for dinosaur bones, dinosaur bones, dinosaur bones….

In this book, young paleontologists will join scientists as they head out on a fossil dig – and you might find yourself singing along to the tune of “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush.” Short sidebars on each spread tell more about fossils and the scientists who find them. And at the back there’s suggestions for acting out the song – great for getting kids moving after reading the book. 

Susan Lendroth and Bob Kolar teamed up on an earlier book, Hey-Ho, to Mars We'll Go! which I discuss over at the GROG. I love their light-hearted way of making science fun and accessible. 

Lia & Luis: Puzzled! (Storytelling Math) 

by Ana Crespo; illus. by Giovana Medeiros

32 pages; ages 3-6 

Lia and Luis receive a package from their grandma. Inside there’s a puzzle … with a secret message.

I am a sucker for secret messages – I mean, who among us has never sent a note in code? But this secret message is the sort of puzzle that must be solved by putting the pieces together. As with any spy novel – or mystery show – there is a time crunch. The twins are trying to put puzzle pieces together while their mom is trying to get them dressed and ready to leave. 

What clues are in the puzzle? Why is mom in such a hurry? And what’s the best way to do a puzzle anyway: corners or edges? Colors or design? What I love about this book (and others in the series) is that there are activities at the back to explore the math concepts – in this case, geometry and sorting. And what I like about this book in particular is the inclusion of Brazilian Portuguese words. Want more Storytelling Math? Check out this post over at the GROG.

Wombat 

by Philip Bunting 

40 pages; ages 2-5 

Wombat. Twobats. Threebats. Morebats.

From youngbats to oldbats, no bat is left out of this silly love story. It is a fun way to play with words, with rhymes (stinkbats and winkbats) and opposites (roundbats and squarebats) and even some compare and contrast (fruitbat and cricketbat). 

This book would be great to pair with Wombat, by Christopher Cheng or Abi Cushman’s not-so-serious guide: Wombats Are Pretty Weird.

Beyond the Books:

Dig for Dinosaurs. Bury some plastic dinosaurs in a sandbox or part of the beach and let kids dig them up while singing “this is the way we excavate, excavate, excavate ….”

Make your own message puzzle. Glue a drawing or photo onto a sheet of cardstock. Once it’s dry, write a message on the back side. Then cut it into puzzle pieces and put it into an envelope, and give it to a friend. You can also do this with extra-large postcards.

Play with animal words and see where they take you. For example, bluebird might lead to truebird or redbird or …. And what about bigfoot (which may or may not be a real animal?) or meercat? 

We’ll join Perfect Picture Book Friday once they resume. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publisher.

You Might Be Part Dinosaur!

Last spring was a tough time for new book releases, what with libraries, schools, and book stores unable to host public events. So this spring I’ll be celebrating some book birthday anniversaries for a few books I didn’t get the chance to review last year.

 

And since today is the start of the Great Backyard Bird Count  I thought I'd start by looking at a book about something distantly related to birds: dinosaurs! I spent part of my young life exploring dinosaur country, so I really enjoyed this one. I love the idea that, like our feathery friends, we might have a bit of dino in us.

A Little Bit of Dinosaur 

by Elleen Hutcheson and Darcy Pattison; illus. by John Joven 

32 pages; ages 5-9

Mims House, 2021

theme: dinosaurs, nature, informational

 You have a little bit of Tyrannosaurus rex in your jawbone!

Sounds crazy, right? But Darcy and Elleen trace how a calcium atom could have dissolved from a dinosaur bone and been carried far away. And become part of a plant that was eaten by a cow that made the milk that …. eventually got into you. 

What I like about this book: It’s fun to read. And I like the way Darcy and Elleen show a probable path to explain how a bit of dinosaur could be in you. In addition to the tyrannosaurus in your jawbone, there might be a bit of a different dino in your toe. The real thing we see, though, is how everything is connected. Stuff in one place – whether calcium from a dino bone or water from a spring – travels to other places and gets incorporated into soil, plants, animals, and eventually people. And I like how, at the end, the authors contemplate where the calcium in our bones will end up ages from now.

This is the place where I’d normally ask Darcy a question – but guess what! She’s going to be here on the blog on Monday – so come back and say “hi.”

Beyond the Books:

Do an experiment to show how calcium dissolves from a bone. You’ll need some vinegar, a few chicken bones (bones from a rotisserie chicken are perfect), and a couple jars. Here’s how to do it. 

Learn more about dinosaurs with these three videos from the National Park Service.    

Want to look for dinosaurs? Check out this list of places where you can find fossils (including dinosaurs)

Find some dinosaurs in your neighborhood. Did you know that birds are the long-lost relatives of dinosaurs? This weekend (today through Monday) is the perfect time for dinosaur watching – and for sharing your observations with others by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count. 

Darcy is a member of #STEAMTeam2022. You can find out more about her at her website.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy from the publisher.

It's a Bird! It's a Dinosaur! It's Chicken Frank!

 I love dinosaurs - who doesn't! And I love chicken, especially when it's seasoned with .... I mean, I love the diversity of chickens and their personalities, and the cool way they chuckle and talk to each other. So of course I love this brand new out-in-the-world today book: 

Chicken Frank, Dinosaur! 

by S. K. Wenger; illus. by Jojo Ensslin 

32 pages; ages 4-7

Albert Whitman & Company, 2021 

theme: birds, dinosaurs, science

"What’s That?”

“A DNA test. To find another dinosaur, like me!”

Frank is not an ordinary chicken. He’s a chicken who knows his ancestors. And by ancestors, he means dinosaurs. More precisely, theropods – though Frank is pretty sure T. rex is one of his parent’s parent’s parent’s ….. parent. His evidence: three-toed feet, feathers that are modified scales, and an embryonic tail. 

What I like about this book: It is told in dialog, accompanied by chicken-scratched diagrams in the dirt and the occasional ultrasound or chalkboard chart. While it is true that chickens don’t talk (or at least speak English) or lecture on evolution, this book is filled with facts, and it is very, very funny. Also, there is back matter ~ with a discussion of similarities between dinos and chickens as well as some frank facts about evolution and a glossary of Frank’s favorite animal groups (which includes Lepidosaurs! one of my faves, too!).

This book was SO much fun to read that I just had to ask the author, Shaunda Two Questions:

Me: You don’t describe evolution in the text, so our understanding of how birds are related to dinosaurs (and their kin) relies on illustrations. What sort of art notes did you include?

Shaunda: I included three art notes with the original manuscript, and they were very brief and hinted at images the illustrator might draw, like [uses hand lens] to help convey the scale of the content. I wanted the editor to have room to form her own images in her head, rather than try to insert my own ideas which would take her out of the flow of the story. I suspected the editor had a background in science (since she edited these types of books), so I trusted that and kept the art notes to a bare minimum. I wanted the editor to fall in love with the characters first. Any supporting content could be provided as needed. And it was—after the illustrator began his work and the editors began looking more closely at the text. Eventually, they asked for backmatter and a glossary.

Me: What challenges did you face writing a book entirely in dialogue?

Shaunda: It took a “hard push” in the form of a rejection letter from the publisher to get me to write Chicken Frank, Dinosaur! in dialogue. The original manuscript was conceived and drafted in traditional narrative prose with a character arc. However, the publisher wanted the story to move more quickly with snappy dialogue. Through the revise and resubmit process, inserting more dialogue and trimming the narrative with the editor’s guidance didn’t quite mesh with the publisher’s vision. In the end, the original manuscript was scrapped with a rejection. 

I suppose sometimes we creatives need that kind of “hard push.” And it worked for me, because writing the straight dialogue happened in a 3-am wake-up call from my muse shortly thereafter. The dialogue-only draft was written by hand in speedy-fashion in an hour. After some feedback from my critique group, it was ready to go back to the same publisher (although it took me a few months to find courage to do this). But I really believed my new version was exactly what the publisher had been asking for, so I sent it for consideration since we had worked so hard on the original story together. The rest is wonderful history!

For dialogue-only stories, my advice is to write a solid story in narrative-form first. Shape up the character development, arc, and emotional layers with your critique partners. Then transform it into comic-book/graphic novel style. By this stage, you’ll know what definitely needs to be seen in the text and what can be supported by illustrations.

Shaunda is a member of #STEAMTeam2021. You can find out more about her at her website.

Beyond the Books:

Find similarities between a chicken and a dinosaur. Materials needed: a book (or books) showing dinosaurs, and a chicken. If you don’t have a chicken hanging around your house, a good photo will do. Look at their feet and their arms/wings. If you have chicken parts remaining from a meal, look at the bones. Are they hollow inside?

Learn more about how chickens are related to dinos. Here's one place to check out.

Make some dinosaur print cookies with Shaunda! Here’s a video showing how. If you don’t have a dino-foodpring cookie cutter, you can draw one on a cereal box. Then put it on the rolled out cookie dough and cut around the shape with a sharp knife.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review ARC provided by the publisher.

Mary Anning's Curiosities

I love fossils! I have an ammonite on my desk, and I think my first book was my dad’s geology textbook – it was filled with black-and-white photos and drawings fossils and dinosaurs. So I’ve been wanting to read this book a long, long time.

Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist 

by Linda Skeers; illus. by Marta Álvarez Miguéns 

40 pages; ages 4-8

Sourcebooks Explore, 2020

theme: fossils, biography, nonfiction

Mary Anning dodged high tides and crashing waves to scout the beach near her hometown of Lyme Regis, England.

Basket in hand, Mary is searching for fossils ~ “curiosities” that people will pay money for. Then one morning, she and her brother saw bone with an eye socket. They chiseled away dirt and stone, exposing a skull! Mary wanted to find the creature’s body so she continued searching. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month.

What I like about this book: Mary Anning is curious about her curiosities. She wants to know more, so she studies papers, draws the fossils she finds, and even cuts some open. People think these fossils are of Monsters! But Mary isn’t afraid – she keeps hunting for more. 

I like how author Linda Skeers depicts Mary and the society she lives in. Even as scientists study her fossils, they refuse to admit her to the Geological Society of London. Women are NOT ALLOWED. 

There is great back matter, too. “Bone Bits and Fossil Facts” is filled with tidbits of info and definitions of some of the words in the book. And there’s a wonderful timeline

Beyond the Books:

Find out more about Mary Anning at the Natural History Museum in London.

Make your own fossils. Here’s how (from PBS). And here’s 25 more fun fossil activities.

Learn more about ichthyosaurs in this National Geographic video.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review from library copy.

Paleontology Girls!

I’m ending the month with a celebration of women in paleontology. The themes for today: fossils, women scientists, biographies

Fossil Huntress: Mary Leakey, Paleontologist
By Andi Diehn; illus. by Katie Mazeika
32 pages; ages 5-8
Nomad Press, 2019

When Mary Leakey was a little girl, she and her father liked to learn about the past.

Mary didn’t go to school like other kids. Instead, she read lots of books about things that interested her. Like fossils. She was passionate about fossils and became good at drawing them. When she grew older, she went to Africa and looked for fossils. She uncovered a skull that was about 16 million years old, and years later discovered fossilized footprints.

What I like about this book: It’s fun to read, and I like how curiosity drives Mary to study fossils and footprints. I also like that author, Andi Diehn explains what paleontologists do when they find fossils. They describe where they found it – landscape and features – and then measure and draw the fossils. And there is back matter! An activity, some quotes and connections to the text, a timeline, and a glossary. Plus, it’s part of a series that introduces women in science to young children.

Gutsy Girls Go for Science: Paleontologists: With Stem Projects for Kids
By Karen Bush Gibson; illus by Hui Li
112 pages; ages 8-12
Nomad Press, 2019

Life on earth began about 3.7 billion years ago – not that anyone was there to document it. So how do we know about prehistoric life?

Paleontologists. They’re the scientists who study fossils, from ferns to trilobites, dinosaurs to ancient humans. In this books we meet twelve-year-old Mary Anning who, in 1811, found a dinosaur in the cliffs near her home. We meet Mignon Talbot who studied crinoids – and I’m glad she did because our garden is filled with fossilized crinoid stems. She is also the first American woman to discover – and name – a dinosaur. Other paleontologists featured are Tilly Edinger, Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, and Mary Leakey.

What I like: Before we head off to join the paleontologists, there’s a “field kit checklist” to remind us to take out safety glasses along with the rock hammer. There are plenty of text-boxes, along with short bios of other paleontologists not featured and hands-on “field assignments” at the end of each chapter.

You can read an interview with author Karen Bush Gibson that was posted earlier this week over at STEM Tuesday.

Beyond the Books:

Draw a fossil – or a shell, leaf, bone, or even a plastic dinosaur. Just like a paleontologist, your goal is to observe your find and capture its shape, colors, and textures on paper. Make sure to write down the date, and jot any notes and labels like a real paleontologist would do.

Make your own fossils out of salt dough. Use shells, plastic dinosaurs, or even leaves to make impressions. Once baked to hardness, paint and … voila! Your very own fossil museum. Instructions here and here.

Or if you’d rather, whip up a batch of cookie dough – you know, the kind you roll and cut into shapes – and press some “fossil imprints” into them.  Or make some fossil jewelry. Here’s directions for that.

If you were a dinosaur, what would your Dinosaur Name be? Find some dino books and choose your favorite names. Stuck? Then check out this cheat sheet from the Horniman Museum

Get digging! Head out into the field alongside paleontology experts, or find fossil camps for kids here.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. And you can check out more books on paleontology over at the STEM Tuesday blog – where this month’s theme was Dinosaurs. There’s a book list and more. Review copies provided by the publisher.

Dinosaurs!

So You Think You Know About … Triceratops?
 by Ben Garrod; illus. by Gabrietl Ugueto, Scott Hartman, & Ethan Kocak
112pages; ages 8-12
Kane Miller/EDC Publishing, 2019

If you thought all dinosaur science was set in stone – ta-da! Scientists are digging up new dino facts every few weeks. So much new science that Dr. Ben Garrod decided each kind of dinosaur deserves its own book about its anatomy, habitats, and behavior. So he’s created a series that explores dinos up-close and personal.

First off, Garrod makes sure readers understand what dinosaurs are, and how they are related. In this book, he talks about how new discoveries can totally revise how scientists think about the dino family tree. And he provides a checklist. Tiny arms? Check. Straight legs? Check.

From there, he dives into the family tree of Triceratops and their relatives. And when they lived (Mesozoic era), and where their fossils have been discovered. Then he does a dino autopsy. Not a real one, because it’s hard to get your hands on a recently-deceased Triceratops. Bone-by-bone, Garrod introduces the skeleton of the dino, with notes on elbows, toes, and how they ran.

Sidebars include “Ask an Expert” and “New Science”, and at the back there’s a fossil finder, answers to the quizzes, and a glossary (the only thing lacking is a pronunciation guide). Other books in the series include Stegosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, and Velociraptor.

Lifesize Dinosaurs 
by Sophy Henn
32 pages; ages 3-8
Kane Miller Books/EDC Publishing, 2018

Sophy Henn uses her art to show how readers measure up against some of the smallest and largest dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures. You’re probably thinking: Riiiight. How can she fit an entire dinosaur onto a page?

Turns out, some dinosaurs were small. Microraptors, for example. From head to tail they easily fit on the diagonal of a full spread. Some dinosaur eggs were small enough to fit on a page. But some dinos were so big that there’s no way to capture the entirety of them on a single page. So Sophy selects their most interesting features. Utahraptors have dagger-sharp curved claws. “Hold your foot up to the page and see how it would look on you!” writes Sophy.

But to compare your smile to the toothy grin of a T-Rex – that requires fold-out pages! Back matter compares dino sizes using the book as the unit of measurement. Which is pretty cool – all you need to do is put a piece of tape on the floor and then flip the book end-over-end 30 times to see how big a T-rex really was. Eighty-three flips for Diplodocus!

Not out yet, but coming soon….

1,000 Facts About Dinosaurs, Fossils, and Prehistoric Life 
by Patricia Daniels
112 pages; ages 8-12
National Geographic Children’s Books, 2020

This is a wonderfully browsable book filled with collections of facts and fun. If you’re looking for something specific, start with the index or table of contents. If you’re ready for adventure, open at random and see where you end up. It might be a page about skeletons, or facts about prehistoric names. For example, Wakiewakie, a prehistoric Australian marsupial, is said to get its name from a local wake up call. And some fossils have been named after musicians, Star Wars characters, and even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Or perhaps you’ll find yourself diving into a page filled with ocean animals, or treated to an entire page of Triceratops facts.

Check out STEM Tuesday blog – where this month’s theme is Dinosaurs. There’s a book list and more.

To find other dinosaur books reviewed here at Archimedes Notebook, just type “dinosaur” into the search bar over to the right. Review copies provided by the publishers.

More Bones in Stones

Before I could read words, I "read" books by looking at pictures. My favorite book at the time was my dad's geology textbook that had an entire section on fossils and dinosaurs. That could explain my love of children's books about paleontology (the branch of science concerned with fossil animals and plants). So here are two more books about the lives of animals whose bones we find in stones...

theme: dinosaurs, fossils, whales

Dinosaurs: a shine-a-light book
by Sara Hurst; illus. by Lucy Cripps
36 pages; ages 4-8
Kane Miller, 2018

Dinosaurs were alive long before there were people.

This book provides a novel way to explore the world of dinosaurs, because part of the illustration is revealed only when you shine a flashlight behind the page.

What I like about this book: that it begins before dinosaurs, with early life that includes jellyfish and bristle worms. As you turn pages, you walk through time visiting different environments, from swamp to jungle.

I like that long, multi-syllabic names are included, because what kid doesn't want to learn how to pronounce parasaurolophus! Back matter adds some quick facts about some of the dinosaurs.

Charlotte's Bones: The Beluga whale in a farmer's field
by Erin Rounds; illus. by Alison Carver
36 pages; ages 5-9
Tilbury House, 2018

Many thousands of years ago, when a sheet of ice more than a mile thick began to let go of the land... the Atlantic Ocean flooded great valleys...

Some of those glacier-scoured valleys were in Vermont. When they became part of the sea, Charlotte and her Beluga buddies swam into the bays. They hunted salmon and raised their young. But one day Charlotte got trapped in a marshy area and her pod could not rescue her.

What I like about this book: The wonderful way that Erin Rounds shows the process of decay and sedimentation that covered her. And how, thousands of years later, in 1849, railroad workers found Charlotte's bones. A naturalist wanted to know more, so he pieced the bones together. Then he wondered, how did a whale get to a farmer's field in Vermont?

I like the extensive back matter that helps to answer the naturalist's questions. There is more information about other ice age mammals whose remains have been discovered in Vermont as well: Musk oxen, woolly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers.

Beyond the Books:
Visit a dinosaur. If there isn't a museum near you, feel free to take a virtual dinosaur field trip at the American Museum of Natural History. And if you have a chance to visit AMNH, the dino exhibit is truly awesome! Here's a list of some dinosaur museums in the US.

Learn more about the amazing Charlotte. Here's a place to start. And here's a link to a 2014 article in the Burlington Free Press: How do you get a whale in Vermont?

What is your state's fossil? Here's a helpful website - with links to your state. Draw a picture of your fossil.

Make your own dinosaur fossil out of salt dough. Or shells, other animals.... Here's how.

Today we're joining other book bloggers over at STEM Friday, where you can discover other cool STEM books. And we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website . Review copies provided by the publishers.

The Dinosaur Expert

The Dinosaur Expert
by Margaret McNamara; illus. by G. Brian Karas
40 pages; ages 4-8
Schwartz & Wade, 2018

theme: dinosaurs, women in science

Kimmy collected things so she could study them. She collected rocks
and shells
and leaves and pebbles and feathers.

I love books that inspire kids to follow their passions - even when their passion seems so out of the ordinary. And I especially love books that encourage girls to explore science.

This book opens with an illustration of Kimmy examining an ammonite from her fossil collection. Yes, she collects them, too. So on the day that Kimmy's class is visiting the natural history museum, she is very excited. She knows a lot about dinosaurs and can't wait to share. But when she mentions that she wants to be a scientist, one of the kids says, "Girls aren't scientists." And Kimmy stops talking.

What I like love about this book: I love the illustrations of the various dinosaurs. And I love the expressiveness of Kimmy's face - readers will understand how she feels about the possibility that there is no place for her in paleontology. What I really love, though, is that the teacher nudges her towards an exhibit of Gasparinisaura, a dinosaur discovered by a woman.

And there is Back Matter (and you know how much I love that!). Titled "My Favorite Paleontologists by Kimmy", we discover seven women who dug and sorted and identified dino bones. Six of them are alive and working in their field right now.

Beyond the book:

Learn about different kinds of dinosaurs. Here's one website to get you started.

Visit a museum where they have dinosaur bones or skeletons. Take along your sketch pad and draw one of the dinosaurs. Then think about what this beast would have looked like with skin and muscles. Here are some photos to get you started

Learn more about women in paleontology here.

Drop by next week for more paleontology.

Today we're joining other book bloggers over at STEM Friday, where you can discover other cool STEM books. And we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website . Review copy unearthed at the library.