Dragon Bones: The Fantastic Fossil Discoveries of Mary Anning

by Sarah Glenn Marsh, Maris Wicks (Illustrator)

At home in her seaside town in England, little Mary Anning stared out her window. Unlike other children, Mary couldn't wait for a rainy day. Because when it rained ... bones were revealed.

With her family, Mary would search the damp soil after a storm, hoping to find something nobody had ever seen before: a dinosaur.

After her father died, Mary continued her search, picking up his tools and venturing out alone. In her life, she discovered several creatures but was rarely given credit ... until recently.

Genres: Picture Books, Biography, Nonfiction, Science, Childrens, History, Dinosaurs

48 pages, Hardcover

First published February 15, 2022

About the author

Sarah Glenn Marsh has been an avid fantasy reader since the day her dad handed her a copy of The Hobbit and promised it would change her life. She believes we all deserve happy endings and is an author of books for everyone, including many young adult, middle grade, and picture book titles.

She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family, including one sweet daughter, one slightly dull sword, and the chaos of many pets, like a turtle named Muffin who she definitely did not bring back from any haunted swamp. Our Rogue Fates is her first adult novel.

Reviews

[Hannah Showalter · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved the illustrations here! such an important person for kids to learn about, too!

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the AR Diamond Book Award. As children, everyone has some sort of interest in digging up cool things and (of course) dinosaur bones. Mary Anning was a paleontologist before paleontology was cool. Consider her a pioneer in the field. This is a cool story about how many of our first known information about fossils came to be. She was the leading lady in her field. A very interesting book for the right reader. I also love that it gives advice about going to college for paleontology and what you will need to major in. This could be a HUGE help for some kids.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

The backmatter was almost more compelling than the actual story here and I loved how comprehensive it was to supplement the book. The actual story felt like it only scratched the surface. I also feel like the cartoon style artwork created a real disconnect and wish the illustrations had been more realistic.

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cute book about a very important lady who discovered many fossils. Unfortunately, she did not get enough credit for what she did. Good biography of the “Mother of Paleontology.”

Mia’s Year of Books: Day 39 Monarch Award Nominee

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful picture book story of Mary Anning’s life and discovery of fossils.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seemed repetitive. The back matter had a short summary of her life which was more interesting than what was included in the book.

I think kids will like it though.

[Shilpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrations by Maris Wicks and excellent back matter!!!!

[Margaret]

Without them, what would we have overlooked or not pursued? Without them, what are we losing? Without them, what kind of future is there? Throughout history, there have been those who would discount, obstruct, and overlook their ideas, endeavors, and accomplishments. They made choices no one else dared to make. They continue, regardless of their age, to do what is best for the largest number of individuals and our planet. We should never doubt the capacity of any committed woman. They serve, protect, and seek.

There are creators, authors and illustrators, of children's nonfiction who are bringing the achievements of those committed women to readers. In two weeks, Women's History Month 2022 begins at the national level and the international level in a few other countries. It is hoped these three titles will motivate others to follow their own positive pursuits.

When you've spent nearly your entire life living in a state that is the only place in the world where a certain stone is found, you find yourself in search of that stone whenever you can. There is no better place to find that unique piece of rock than along the beaches of northern Michigan. The beauty of searching for one thing is that it leads you to other discoveries. Dragon Bones: The Fantastic Fossil Discoveries of Mary Anning (Roaring Brook Press, February 15, 2022) written by Sarah Glenn Marsh with illustrations by Maris Wicks is about a family of seekers and a girl in that family who loved nothing more than roaming along the seacoast, especially after a storm.

My full recommendation: https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picture book biography. This book tells the story of Mary Anning, a paleontology pioneer from England. Mary lived in Lyme Regis, a region that had cliffs that were ever changing as the storms rolled in and out. As a child she treasure hunted with her dad and brother, but eventually went out on gigs on her own. She ended up opening her own fossil depot where she interacted with many scholars. Though not entirely welcomed to the table since she was female, her work was well respected. Unfortunately her findings were not always credited to her. Mary's findings changed our understanding of prehistoric marine animals.

The topic is interesting, as many kids like collecting rocks and other "curios." The illustrations were well done, subtly showing signs of Mary aging throughout the book. My favorite is the page where she's running down the cliff after a storm and her mouth is wide open like a Peanuts character. Back matter includes more on Mary herself, information about her biggest discoveries, tips on becoming a paleontologist, and a bibliography. End papers show depictions of the fossilized rocks and then imagine what the area would have looked like when the animals were still alive.

[Debrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strengths: Conveys the thrill and pull of the scientific treasure hunt. Keeps a strong through-line. Lots of enticing visual hints of the mysteries lurking beneath the earth's surface. Touching use of ghost/memory dad accompanying her treks in her mind. Effective use of changes in perspective and POV to make a sense of excitement and discovery. Great back matter. Cool use of endpapers: first fossils, then illustrations of what creatures they might have been.

Quibbles:
- On two spreads the illustrations led me to read the text across the whole spread and then the lower text, but it was meant to be read left page/right page. (The two spreads first showing Mary and her dad cleaning up treasures on a table.)
- Mary's cartoonish face is expressive enough, but on the page where she and her dog look down on a new find ("One winter..."), I was distracted by the dramatic focus on their simply-drawn faces.
- "She missed having Joseph on her hunts" - it's not his story, but given that the dad died, it was unsettling not to know what happened to Joseph.

[Kaleigh Langlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this! The art was amazing, so detailed!! We need to appreciate childrens book art more! The fact that the front and back covers matched but the front was fossilized and the back was what the creatures would have been!! Omg!! The girls at the library said this children's book counted for one of our summer reading monopoly squares "Read about a real life adventure" so I said say less, I'm always in for a quick read!!! It was actually hilarious having a little circle time with my friend at work reading this picture book together! I'm living for it! I am actually happy I read this. I had no idea who Mary Anning was, the fact that she made so many scientific fossil discoveries but we dont actively talk ahout her! So many men took her findings and gave her no credit whatsoever, one man in her lifetime gave her credit and she only got one of her dinosaurs named after her. Ugh!!! Genuinely glad I read this! I can just see all the little girls reading this seeing real life representation in a scientific field, it's inspiring!

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Budding paleontologists will love this one. This is the exciting and inspiring story of a woman we now credit as "the mother of paleontology." Sadly, as was so often the case in Mary's time, she was given no credit for her incredible fossil discoveries as she was a woman.

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little story about the first paleontologist, unofficial. Mary Anning didn't go to school to dig up dinosaur bones. She lived on the coast of Regis England and her family went and dug up fossils to sale for money. It's how they made their living.

Mary loved storms because they would erode the earth and she could discover new things. One day, her brother found the head of some old fossil. She found the body. It was the 1st Ichithyosaur or fish lizard. It looks like a giant dolphin. She sold it to a rich person who put it in a museum as his own discovery. Mary lived 1799 - 1847. A short life.

She also discovered a Pletiosaurus which looks like the loch ness monster. She discovered several fossils. Most were bought and someone stole her credit, but eventually a man gave her credit. She was self taught and was the first paleontologist. People came from all over to see her and discuss these things with her. She was hyper curious and determined. She was a great person.

The artwork was drawn with pencil on paper, scanned and colored in digitally. I like the artwork. It's full of energy and discovery. We feel the weather and the sea and the thrill of finding things. There is a picture of her jumping with joy that I just loved.

A great book for dinosaur lovers or people interested in strong women.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beginning biography of basic facts about Mary Anning’s fossil discoveries off the coast of England were she lived. While not a formally educated scientist, Mary definitely had a scientific curiosity and a keen sense of observation as well as the tenacity to continue her fossil hunts, a true scientist who observed what she saw, not what she thought should be there.
I liked that the frond end papers were illustrated with skeletons and the back two were colored illustrated of what the animal would have looked like. Four pages of appended material including a bibliography seemed to be a couple of levels over the interest level of the text.

[Brandon Dyer (Children's Librarian) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful origin story of Mary Anning who was an English fossil collector, dealer, and paleontologist. She was well known around the world for finding different species when paleontology was beginning to be considered a profession. This book illustrates Mary Anning passion for treasure hunting and the creditability that she did not get for discovering different species because she was a woman in a male dominating profession. She was resilient and became an icon for future female paleontologist.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the seaside town of Lyme Regis, England, Mary Anning's family would hunt for fossils after storms washed away mud and uncovered them. After their father died, Mary and her went out together. They thought Joseph had found a giant crocodile head. Mary kept searching for the rest of the body. A fossil collector bought it. Only one of the collectors credited Mary with a find, yet she continued her successful searching.
Followed by two pages about her finds, a page on paleontologists, and a selected bibliography.
Could inspire someone in their future work.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was funny, because I just read about Mary Anning in the book Stolen Science. Unlike the book Stolen Science, this takes a water down version of Mary Anning's story. It glosses over how Mary did not get the FULL recognition she should have gotten, but that is whole other point and book. The glossing over made sense for this is for younger readers, so those concepts of not getting credit were shorten for the audience.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an introduction to the life of Mary Anning, the Mother of Palaeontology. Maris Wicks artwork is just perfect. My almost 5 year old granddaughter was fascinated by the end papers. The ones in the front of the book are skeletons while the ones at the back are the artists rendition of what they might have looked like in life.
I thought the main part of the book was a bit short on details. Still, the back matter contains extra information about her and the different animals she found.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a picture book biography of Mary Anning who made significant fossil discoveries, even when she was young. It explains paleontology in a very kid-friendly way--a treasure hunt! This would be great for STEAM, dinosaur, or girl power storytime for preschool and up. Definitely one to read to young girl fans of dinosaurs because it's often thought of as a "boy thing." Warning that it may cause children to start digging in their own backyards for treasure.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A biography of Mary Anning from childhood through opening and running her fossil depot. Relatively light on words compared to a lot of pb biographies, so definitely friendly to younger kids.

Lots of emphasis on the work Mary did and how little credit she got for it.

Endnotes are about Anning, her major discoveries, and becoming a paleontologist.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy-to-read book about a woman who discovered many full fossils of dinosaurs! I love the focus on a woman in a STEM field, and I especially appreciated that the author noted that she didn’t get credit for her discoveries at the time.

George and I both gave it 4 stars!

[Brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved learning about Mary Anning and her tenacity and passion for fossils.

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I *really* value the How to Become a Paleontologist section after the bio. It was simple and informative to young kids wanting to pursue that profession.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story of a very interesting person.

[Leova Manbhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great beginning biography for kids. The story of Mary Anning, the mother of paleontology.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simpler in text than an earlier book about Anning, this would be a good one to use with younger students.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storytimes and school visits grades K-3

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My four year loves rocks so this was a hit for her, especially since our library’s copy was accidentally bound upside down.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice pb bio of Anning for younger readers.

[Earl · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's great that there are more books about Mary Anning so people can finally give her the credit she deserved for all her contribution in the field of paleontology.