Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist by Linda Skeers, Marta Álvarez Miguéns
Published by Sourcebooks, Inc. on July 7, 2020
ISBN: 172820951X
Pages: 40
Genres: Biography/Autobiography, Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
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Mary Anning was unique for her time, having lived in the first half of the 1800’s. She was curious, observant, and perseverant in her quest for knowledge and recognition of her dinosaur fossils and bones discoveries. 

Text include many descriptive phrases, such as “scrambled over crumbling cliffs” and repeats the theme that Mary wasn’t afraid. The author wasn’t shy about describing bezoar stone:  fossilized poop! Full-color, digitally painted illustrations by Marta Alvarez Miguens are mostly double-page spreads and show enough dinosaur bones to grab younger reader’s attention.  Backmatter includes a proportional timeline (including a few details not described in the text), author’s note, and bibliography.

Additional but worthy purchase where collections need updating or don’t include Laurence Anholt’s “Stone Girl, Bone Girl” (1999) or “Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon” by Jeannine Atkins (1999). All three of these have inviting titles, but only Skeers’ book lists Mary Anning as being named “One of the ten most influential British women of science” by the Royal Society of London since that happened in 2010.

Reviewed by Lynn Mayer, Retired Librarian, Old Town Elementary School, Old Town