Tag palaeontology

Fossils From Lost Worlds

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Fossils From Lost Worlds

Fossils From Lost Worlds
Hélène Rajcak and Damien Laverdunt
Gecko Press

Immerse yourself in the world of palaentology with this large format book that provides youngsters with an accessible way to learn about fossils and geological periods.

The first spread is devoted to the diagrammatic representation of the geological periods after which readers travel through time from the very beginnings of animal life looking at the likely first organisms with each spread featuring a different prehistoric creature selected for its special contribution to scientists’ learning of palaeontology.

Yes, there are some of the expected familiar favourites including Archaeopteryx the oldest bird, Diplodocus, Stegosaurus and the iconic Tyrannosaurus; but many of the less well-known species are new to me and probably many other readers. There’s the invertebrate Anomalocaris: since 1978 palaeontologists agree on what it looked like, but its behaviour is still the subject of discussion.
Another creature – Hallucigenia – has been the topic of much dispute in particular which end was the tail and which the head 

and there was also confusion as to what were tentacles and what were legs. Happily now thanks to electron microscopy these mysteries have been resolved.

The fossilised footprints found in Thuringia (Germany) were a mystery to scientists for over 130 years and it’s since the 1960s that it was decided that these were made by the reptilian Ticinosuchus. 

The last animal we encounter is possibly the largest ever land mammal Paraceratherium, the hornless cousin of the rhino thought to have a flexible upper lip which it used to pluck leaves and grass in similar fashion to rhinos of today.

Every one of the animals represented is allocated either one full page depiction or a full page illustration opposite which is a sequence of smaller panels adding to the overall visual appeal of the book. Each is also accompanied by a written description as well as helpful bullet points setting out where the fossil remains were found, crucially, its size and when it lived.

Alongside the animals, we also meet some of the associated palaeontologists including Georges Cuvier, Othniel Charles Marsh, Clive Forster-Cooper and the person whose name is familiar to most readers, Mary Anning, each of whom is introduced in amusing graphic style comic strip format.

The final two double spreads comprise a time line of palaeontology from the 5th century to 2017.

Most young children are dinosaur and prehistoric animal mad; this book will take those with an abiding interest in the topic, deeper in and further back in time.

When Sue Found Sue

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When Sue Found Sue
Toni Buzzeo and Diana Sudyka
Abrams Books for Young Readers

“Never lose your curiosity about everything in the universe – it can take you to places you never thought possible!” so said Sue Hendrickson the palaeontologist subject herein, her quote being the starting point for this fascinating book that tells the story of the discovery of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever unearthed.

Living in Indiana, Sue was a shy child with a heuristic drive, particularly for anything in the natural world; she also had a passion for finding lost items, was often found with her head in a book

and loved to visit the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Her interests led in her teens to her joining first a team of underwater treasure hunters looking for tropical fish, lost boats, planes and cars; and then teams searching mines for prehistoric butterflies, deserts for prehistoric whale fossils and finally, the hills of western South Dakota for dinosaur fossils.

In her fourth summer of digging Sue was drawn towards a sandstone cliff and after four hours of hiking in the heat,

looking up, she spied three enormous pieces of what look like back bones protruding from the cliff. Almost unbelievably Sue and her dog, Gypsy had come upon fossils of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Then began the arduous task of removing the 300 bones in the intense heat, a piece-by-piece task that took several days.

After an ownership dispute we see the dinosaur reconstruction duly named after Sue on permanent display at Chicago’s Field Museum.

Both Buzzeo’s narrative and Diana Sudyka’s detailed gouache and watercolour illustrations will surely inspire young readers to be mindful of the book’s opening words, to make sure they look closely at the world around them and to hold onto their own spirit of adventure and pursue their passion whatever that may be.

An author’s note about Sue Hendrickson’s contribution to the scientific community, and two resource lists end the book.