This charming biography of Mary Anning presents a concise history of her life, work, and influence on our understanding of natural history. The book is written in clear language with wonderful illustrations sourced from historical sources. A helpful timeline and glossary follow the text.

Fossil Hunter
Author Cheryl Blackford
Available now!

Thank you, @netgalley and Clarion books, for my #gifted e- arc of this beautiful children's book. I absolutely love book like this and was so grateful to have the opportunity to share this one with my two children as well.

Mary Anning grew up on the southern coast of England, an area that was once rich with fossils. So much so that she and her brother discovered England’s first complete ichthyosaur. This book is especially perfect for children who are learning about strong women in science who had to overcome barriers and challenges in order to succeed. Mary grew up poor and was uneducated, but managed to teach herself so much that she changed the way other scientists thought about prehistoric times. Today, she is known as one of the world's greatest paleontologist's.

A fun visually appealing and compelling version of a great story, and I learned about someone new! The subject matter serves the material and choice of visual storytelling well, and I really likes this.

From a young age, Mary Anning scours the cliffs of her native Dorset, uncovering prehistoric fossils that significantly alter the scientific understanding of the past. Despite the hardships of poverty and a lack of formal recognition in her lifetime, Mary persists in her endeavours. Her discoveries paved the way for new insights into extinction and prehistoric life, pre-dating Darwin's famous work on evolution.

Fossil Hunter sparks engaging discussions about women in STEM, the importance of following your passions, perseverance, resilience, and overcoming gender roles and poverty.

• If you are not familiar with Mary Anning, this is a great book to read and learn about her. Yes, it is a middle grade book (ages 10 and up), but it is a detailed one and it gives a very thorough look into Anning’s life and her discovery of the first complete ichthyosaur when she was 12 years old!

• Anning is another woman who didn’t receive the credit she was due during her lifetime (born 1799, died 1847). Many men took credit for her discoveries, and she was blatantly rejected by the scientific community during her lifetime. She could have easily disappeared from the history books, but thankfully she didn’t. Sadly, I always have to wonder how many other women we still don’t know about who were significant contributors to science or other fields of study. I’m sure there are plenty.

• The book contains great artwork and photographs, as well as a glossary to help with the scientific terminology.

• This book belongs in every classroom. It is an inspiring story of perseverance and female achievement. Anyone interested in dinosaurs, female pioneers, or natural history in general would appreciate this book.

Thank you @Netgalley and Clarion Books for an eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This book is a wonderfully written and illustrated work that I will be adding to my class library. I think it is compelling for my students and I love that it is about a woman in science.

A big Mary Anning fan so was delighted to read this and every story about Mary brings a different part to her story. I can see this appealing to those who want to find out more about her achievements set within a well told story

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read "Fossil Hunter" by Cheryl Blackford.

Mary Anning is a wonderfully heroic figure, and I am pleased that Ms. Blackford has written about Mary's life in a way that children can understand and appreciate it. We all know that children adore dinosaurs, so reading this book will be a delight for them. Mary Anning, the Fossil Hunter who was unsung for far too long finally has her story available to kids. I enjoy the book and the lovely illustrations very much. I recommend the book.

Cheryl Blackford’s Fossil Hunter is a beautifully illustrated book, full of interesting facts and historical information.. The book gives a great way to introduce the story of Mary Anning, an important person in science. Educators may want to use the book as part of a unit on fossils, dinosaurs, history, or women in science. It works for it all.

Disclaimer: A copy was provided by the publisher.

Writing is hard. What’s even harder is to write in a way that breathes life into a topic most readers see as dull. In Fossil Hunter: How Mary Anning Changed the Science of Prehistoric Life, Cheryl Blackford, who studied geology, resuscitates a long forgotten hero as pivotal to the development of Earth Science and Natural History as the “hidden figures” who once helped NASA put this nation on moon.


Mary Anning, a poor British girl set out to feed her family as she dug fossils near Lyme Regis, Dorset. In 1812, the then-13-year-old she made a great find. It was the first ichthyosaur (Ichthysaur platyodon) to be studied by scientists. As several of the fossils she discovered, the rock skeleton is now in London’s Natural History Museum.

Blackford shows that her motive was plain. Anning did not start out to be a paleontologist, but curiosity and the instinct to discover the deeper truths about those natural treasures in the cliffs uncovered a scientist’s soul. The author describes her as “an intelligent, curious, practical individual not intimidated by those better educated and wealthier.” Those traits brought her to a destiny as a giant in paleontology. As readers will grasp, that is not hyperbole. As Blackford’s121-page manuscript, it is an attempt to give credit that she never got in life.

In the 19th century, the gender barriers kept her from the credit, not the work. Anning’s accomplishments publicly surfaced through distinguished males such as William Buckland, who in 1818 became Oxford University’s first geology professor. The doctor and geologist Gideon Mantell’s writing on dinosaurs was also influenced by the young woman’s discoveries. Moreso, unlike those males, she had to find ways outside institutions to fund her work.

Anning was aided by a few wealthy women friends’ money as she dug the plentiful fossils. They were strange impressions in stone, ignored by most people. Anning learned about the stony molds of the skeletons of dead animals from her father. He taught her to dig them and how to sell the finds to wealthy residents in the area and universities.
She taught herself to clean the bones of rock and debris, and was the first to present a complete

Plesiosaurus fossil, which in 1823 was hailed as her greatest find. The next year she was the first to determine that bezoar stones found with many skeletons were actually fossilized feces. In 1828, she uncovered the first pterosaur or pterodactyl remains. The next year, she found the first squaloraja fossil (Squaloraja polyspondyla) , and in 1830 uncovered an even more complete fossil dubbed Plesiosaurus macrocephaleus.

At a time when educators want to see more youth, especially girls, drawn to science, Fossil Hunter, through prose, images and illustrations shows that a humble person can make greatness. The developments that came from Anning changed science and its grasp on Earth’s development. The work is dynamic enough to grab the 10-year-old and up readers for which its intended. The author takes those readers on a deep dive into pretty heady facts. The saddest of which is how gender alone forced Anning’s accomplishments to go unacknowledged. Earth Science was a man’s domain. Blackford’s work goes a long way to push that farther into the past.

I am always down for an educational book to read to my kiddos, especially about a topic we've not explored much. I hadn't heard of Mary Anning before this story and really hadn't given too much thought into fossil hunting.

Fossil Hunter is a story about Mary Anning- a young girl who grew up to be a mostly unrecognized scientist in her field. Mary lived in the 1800's when women were not allowed to be educated and weren't thought of as more than ornaments or menial workers. Mary's father was a fossil hunter who eventually perished while searching on dangerous terrain. Mary and her brother began searching for fossils and sold them to help their family survive.

Fossil hunting and selling became a means of survival for Mary. This book tells all about her life and her discoveries. She made many new discoveries even though her male colleagues didn't give her credit during her lifetime. Since photography wasn't an option, Mary had to learn to draw her finds. There are actually photos of her drawings and letters in the book.

Fossil Hunters was very informative and scientific but it showed the humanity behind a great scientist. Sometimes the words were large and complicated in keeping with the topic, so I would recommend this for an older student. Even though the science was heavy in parts, I think my boys understood how special Mary Anning and her journey are in history of geology and and natural history.

Mary Anning is one of the world's most celebrated paleontologists, known for discovering fossils--such as the ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus--that would end up studied by scientists and displayed in museums. Despite all her discoveries, Mary Anning lived a life full of adversities and wasn't always accepted in the scientific community just because she was a woman. Nevertheless, she continued her studies, sketches, and searches for fossils and helped expand the understanding of our world for generations to come.

We have been reading picture books about Mary Anning for years thanks to my daughter's love of dinosaurs and determination to become a paleontologist. This nonfiction chapter book gave us a much more in-depth look at Mary's life and life's work.

This book has a beautifully illustrated cover, endpapers, and chapter headers. The images within are mostly a collection of paintings and paleoart from Mary Anning herself (plus some stock photos) with italicized text in blue boxes/bubbles to explain each.

Includes a timeline, glossary, and a list of places to see Mary Anning's fossils!

This book captivated me. The biography of Mary Anning, the photos. It had me and my science loving daughter from the beginning.

A fabulous insight into the work and life of Mary Anning. Written to appeal to readers of all ages with interesting photos and illustrations. Gives a real understanding of the challenges faced by Mary and what strength of character and resilience she carried throughout her life.

Love to see more historical women in science stories, and this is no exception! Lovely illustrations and a story that captured my imagination. Mary's determination is the kind of science role model I look for for students. The incorporation of photographs and paleoart add even more interest to an already engaging story. Yet another female scientist history has glossed over, I welcome the addition of Mary Anning's story to our libraries.

A wonderful book that I hope to share with both my sons, ages 5 and 10. I am always looking for more educational tools to enhance public education and this is a wonderful book

I love the story of Mary Anning and thus version didn't disappoint. A triumph and enjoyable. I love the additions of facts and diagrams. Perfect for key stage 2 children.

Mary Anning was a poor, young girl with no formal education. How did she become one of England’s best fossil hunter! Mary Anning grew up in Lyme Regis, Dorset in an area of England that is rich in fossils from the Jurassic era. She learned fossil hunting skills from her father and when he died, used her knowledge and her expertise to make a living finding, preparing, and selling fossils. She would copy information (articles and drawings from scientific journals and books. She made many remarkable discoveries that advanced paleontological and geological knowledge. Mary found the first complete ichthyosaurus skeleton. She also found the first complete plesiosaur fossil and became the first British person to find a pterodactyl. Mary was the first person in the world to discover a squaloraja (an ancestor of the shark and ray) fossil. Mary rarely got any recognition for her work until after her death.

It is a riveting biography which has made me ant to know more about Mary Anning. This illustrated biography includes a pn author’s note, a timeline, notes, glossary and extensive bibiography. It’s a wonderfully illustrated biography to read.

Great book for upper elementary and MS readers. Such a fascinating subject and written in a way that will engage readers!

I enjoyed this book but I had almost hoped it would work better for younger readers. As a parent of a 5 year old I'm always on the lookout for great books for little girls and Fossil Hunter was so close but got a little bogged down by it's sparse pictures and lengthy text.