This is a very good picture book biography of Mary Anning, the woman who devoted her life to unearthing fossils along the English shoreline. She was a truly incredible woman and this book does a great job of describing her accomplishments. I liked the book. It does what many Don Brown biographies do, makes the lives of important yet overlooked or forgotten historical figures clear, understandable, and interesting again. ( )

Mary Anning, like so many famous and influential people, had a difficult childhood. Impoverished from birth, she and her brother looked for fossils to help support the family. And when she was grown, she continued to do so.

The field of paleontology was very, very young when Anning entered it, and she was influential in many of the important discoveries that were made then - and now, even. However, because of her sex she's never received much recognition from the rest of the world.

This book is clear and concise, covering her life from early childhood to adulthood. The artwork is simple enough, and the language should be easy for children to grasp. I got this book from my Secret Santa over at LibraryThing, and I intend to buy more books by this author. ( )