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Fossil Huntress: Mary Leakey, Paleontologist
A fascinating picture book biography about Mary Leakey, a paleontologist who worked long hours in the fields of Tanzania--includes STEM activities for real-world learning!
What was the world like millions of years ago? Did early humans walk on all fours? Did giant sloths lie in trees? Did dinosaurs have feathers? Even as a young girl, Mary Leakey was fascinated by questions like these! In Fossil Huntress: Mary Leakey, Paleontologist , readers ages 5 to 8 meet Mary as a girl growing up in France and visiting the site of archeological wonders, such as Pech Merle, Fond de Gaume, and La Mouthe. As an adult, Mary spends much of her life working in the field in Tanzania, making discoveries that change the face of paleontology forever. True grit, passion, and high standards for scientific rigor made Mary a pioneer in the field of paleontology!
- In the Picture Book Biography series, children encounter real-life characters who are thrilled to learn and experiment, eager to make a difference, and excited about collaborating with crew members.
- Age-appropriate vocabulary, detailed illustrations, a timeline, simple STEM projects, such as exploring trace fossils and drawing specimens, and a glossary all support foundational learning for kids ages 5 to 8.
- Perfect for beginner readers or as a read aloud nonfiction picture book!
About Picture Book Biography books and Nomad Press
Fossil Huntress is part of a set of four books in the Picture Book Biography series that introduces pioneers of science to young children. The other titles in this series include Space Adventurer: Bonnie Dunbar, Astronaut ; Human Computer: Mary Jackson, Engineer ; and Computer Decoder: Dorothy Vaughn, Computer Scientist .
Nomad Press books in the Picture Book Biography series bring real-world figures to life through fun, engaging narratives paired with dynamic, brightly colored illustrations and quick activities that reinforce foundational learning. Elementary-aged children are encouraged to expand their perceptions of the roles of scientist, artist, explorer, and innovator by meeting women, people of color, and other minorities in the profession. Nomad's unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.
All books are leveled for Guided Reading level and Lexile and align with Common Core State Standards and National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. All titles are available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats.
What was the world like millions of years ago? Did early humans walk on all fours? Did giant sloths lie in trees? Did dinosaurs have feathers? Even as a young girl, Mary Leakey was fascinated by questions like these! In Fossil Huntress: Mary Leakey, Paleontologist , readers ages 5 to 8 meet Mary as a girl growing up in France and visiting the site of archeological wonders, such as Pech Merle, Fond de Gaume, and La Mouthe. As an adult, Mary spends much of her life working in the field in Tanzania, making discoveries that change the face of paleontology forever. True grit, passion, and high standards for scientific rigor made Mary a pioneer in the field of paleontology!
- In the Picture Book Biography series, children encounter real-life characters who are thrilled to learn and experiment, eager to make a difference, and excited about collaborating with crew members.
- Age-appropriate vocabulary, detailed illustrations, a timeline, simple STEM projects, such as exploring trace fossils and drawing specimens, and a glossary all support foundational learning for kids ages 5 to 8.
- Perfect for beginner readers or as a read aloud nonfiction picture book!
About Picture Book Biography books and Nomad Press
Fossil Huntress is part of a set of four books in the Picture Book Biography series that introduces pioneers of science to young children. The other titles in this series include Space Adventurer: Bonnie Dunbar, Astronaut ; Human Computer: Mary Jackson, Engineer ; and Computer Decoder: Dorothy Vaughn, Computer Scientist .
Nomad Press books in the Picture Book Biography series bring real-world figures to life through fun, engaging narratives paired with dynamic, brightly colored illustrations and quick activities that reinforce foundational learning. Elementary-aged children are encouraged to expand their perceptions of the roles of scientist, artist, explorer, and innovator by meeting women, people of color, and other minorities in the profession. Nomad's unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.
All books are leveled for Guided Reading level and Lexile and align with Common Core State Standards and National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. All titles are available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published September 10, 2019
2 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Andi Diehn
38 books59 followersAndi Diehn graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College, relied on a freelance writing career when her children were young and childcare was expensive, and now works as a children’s book editor and marketer at Nomad Press. She has written eleven nonfiction books for the educational market, and her fictional picture book on mental illness, MAMA’S DAYS, is forthcoming this year from Reycraft Books. She has six more nonfiction picture books scheduled to release over the next two years.
Andi also works as a bookseller at her local indie in rural New Hampshire, where she lives with her husband, three sons, and lots of pets.
Andi also works as a bookseller at her local indie in rural New Hampshire, where she lives with her husband, three sons, and lots of pets.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 22, 2019
What a frustrating read. Fossil Huntress tells the story of Mary Leakey, a British paleontologist who discovered incredible fossils during the course of her lifetime's research in Kenya and Tanzania. While the prospect of a picture biography of a woman paleontologist is a great one, this iteration doesn't cut it. The text, instead of referring to Kenya or Tanzania specifically, instead describes the place where Leakey conducted her research this way: "Africa is a land of sun and heat, and of zebras, elephants, and giraffes living free and wild"-- and never goes beyond this to communicate any sense of Kenya or Tanzania as a place inhabited by anyone other than non-human animals. Similarly, despite the vast majority of the book taking place in Kenya and Tanzania, every person depicted in the illustrations is white. Even setting all of this to the side, the book is dry and unengaging, with plodding text and no dialogue.
February 13, 2022
Wow, this book was truly awful! My biggest complaints:
1. Readers only know she worked in Tanzania by reading the names on the maps pictured. They don't even list the location in the back matter! All we get in the text is pithy junk like, "She lived in Africa, the land of sun, grass, and fossils, until she passed away." I hope my obituary contains more than, "She lived in North America, land of sun, grass, and fossils, until she passed away." How incredibly disrespectful to Leaky, and to the tens of thousands of people that live and work in Tanzania!
2. The illustrations were terrible. They really looked computer generated, and not in a good way.
3. Her maiden name is never mentioned in the text, nor is her location of birth, or her parents' names. We need to look at the timeline at the back to get, "1913: Mary Nicol is born in London on February 6." My kids & I spent the whole book thinking this woman was American. (Very egocentric of us, I know!)
4. WHY didn't she "go to school like other children"?! The most important part of any picture book biography for my children is the person's childhood. There are NO details here. Not that there was nothing to write about, BTW. Did you know that Mary was expelled from a convent school for causing an explosion in a chemistry laboratory? I learned that on Wikipedia.
5. Page 18/19 where "Mary and her team discovered animal footprint fossils." The man in the picture is the one actually doing the discovering. That man looks exactly like the illustration of her husband from a few pages earlier, but her husband was dead by this time, so I'm assuming it's just another random team member? Also, why isn't her husband's death mentioned in the text? Isn't that a major milestone in a person's life?
6. The second most important feature of a picture book biography to my children is if the person had any children. Mary Leakey had three children, but this is not mentioned anywhere, even in the endnotes.
7. Page 12 where we read, "Mary insisted that everyone follow directions and do careful scientific work." Diehn never mentions the significance of this. Kids are probably thinking "Duh! Of course everyone needed to follow directions!" But the reality is that many paleontologists that had come before her actually did NOT do careful work and did not record their findings in an organized manner. It was the early days of archeology still, so her insistence on scientific work was important.
8. I understand why it wasn't included in this book, but I thought it was interesting to learn that Louis Leakey, Mary's husband, was still married to another woman when he and Mary became romantically involved.
Needless to say, I will not be reading the other books in this series.
1. Readers only know she worked in Tanzania by reading the names on the maps pictured. They don't even list the location in the back matter! All we get in the text is pithy junk like, "She lived in Africa, the land of sun, grass, and fossils, until she passed away." I hope my obituary contains more than, "She lived in North America, land of sun, grass, and fossils, until she passed away." How incredibly disrespectful to Leaky, and to the tens of thousands of people that live and work in Tanzania!
2. The illustrations were terrible. They really looked computer generated, and not in a good way.
3. Her maiden name is never mentioned in the text, nor is her location of birth, or her parents' names. We need to look at the timeline at the back to get, "1913: Mary Nicol is born in London on February 6." My kids & I spent the whole book thinking this woman was American. (Very egocentric of us, I know!)
4. WHY didn't she "go to school like other children"?! The most important part of any picture book biography for my children is the person's childhood. There are NO details here. Not that there was nothing to write about, BTW. Did you know that Mary was expelled from a convent school for causing an explosion in a chemistry laboratory? I learned that on Wikipedia.
5. Page 18/19 where "Mary and her team discovered animal footprint fossils." The man in the picture is the one actually doing the discovering. That man looks exactly like the illustration of her husband from a few pages earlier, but her husband was dead by this time, so I'm assuming it's just another random team member? Also, why isn't her husband's death mentioned in the text? Isn't that a major milestone in a person's life?
6. The second most important feature of a picture book biography to my children is if the person had any children. Mary Leakey had three children, but this is not mentioned anywhere, even in the endnotes.
7. Page 12 where we read, "Mary insisted that everyone follow directions and do careful scientific work." Diehn never mentions the significance of this. Kids are probably thinking "Duh! Of course everyone needed to follow directions!" But the reality is that many paleontologists that had come before her actually did NOT do careful work and did not record their findings in an organized manner. It was the early days of archeology still, so her insistence on scientific work was important.
8. I understand why it wasn't included in this book, but I thought it was interesting to learn that Louis Leakey, Mary's husband, was still married to another woman when he and Mary became romantically involved.
Needless to say, I will not be reading the other books in this series.
Read
February 27, 2020This book is about a paleontologist, named Mary Leakey, who studied bones in Africa and found one of the oldest human skulls ever discovered (in 1959).
This is a good introduction to paleontology and to Mary Leakey's life. It's good for homeschoolers of pre-K and kindergarteners and for classrooms. There is an activity for children to try at the end of the book. Though most of the book does not rhyme there is a poem that kind of rhymes at the beginning.
This is a good introduction to paleontology and to Mary Leakey's life. It's good for homeschoolers of pre-K and kindergarteners and for classrooms. There is an activity for children to try at the end of the book. Though most of the book does not rhyme there is a poem that kind of rhymes at the beginning.
February 16, 2021
The Fossil Huntress was a very simple and short biography on Paleontologist Mary Leakey. It showed her most famous findings, what they were, and where she had found them. She work as a paleontologist mainly in Africa and the islands surrounding it. I enjoyed this book a lot because it was straight to the point of what Mary Leakey was doing but at the same time was easy to understand. I think this book is very child friendly as there aren't many words in the book and the illustrations are very simple yet very good at the same time. I would recommend this book to a child whos interested in Fossils and bones.
May 26, 2022
Cute little book that introduces you to the story of Mary Leakey and Olduvai Gorge. Super cute illustration style! And I loved that Mary's trusty doggo was with her in most of the pages. But the text/information left a little to be desired. Definitely aimed towards younger kids, with short and simple text. Good picture book, but not necessarily a great non-fic resource.
November 7, 2022
This book was informational based but it was easier for students to be engaged and read. This story was about Mary Leakey who grew up to be a paleontologist. A paleontologist is someone who studies bones.
September 21, 2025
Auditioning books for read aloud during Paleontology kid's day at the museum ( Lost City). Not my favorite, a bit dry, it does introduce paleontology and Mary Leaky. It would be ok for my intended purpose.
April 16, 2020
An elementary and up picture book biogrpahy of Mary Leakey who was a paleontologist discovering early human bones.
October 15, 2020
I’d say this is a good introduction to paleontology and like that it’s an Ode to a woman whom paved the way for paleontologists today. Not very diverse though.
February 19, 2021
Women dig fossils! This is an inspiring look at the life of one woman scientist who helped break down barriers and made important scientific discoveries about early hominids.
April 11, 2022
Short biography of Mary Leakey, from a childhood interested in fossils to marriage and work as a paleontologist in Africa.
March 25, 2025
A short and sweet biography about Mary Leakey and her contributions as a palaeontologist. She helped to discover fossils that date back to 2 million years ago.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews