Ted Enik

Illustrations get 5 stars. I always feel like Eloise books are for adults. The kids get drawn into the pictures but the text is full if references to adult things. This one , NOT written by Kay Thompson but just inspired by, was uncomfortable to read aloud to my kids. Halfway through I ended up making up my own words to go with the story.
Cringe worthy quote, "If your mother is even one-half worth her salt, then sooner or later she's bound to make the acquaintance of a famous Hollywood Movie show more Mogul who will insist you simply must must must drop in for a visit." Am I the only one who sees something inappropriate implied in that statement? show less

The illustrations are going to grab your eye and have you journeying across the entire page with its minute details, vivacious coloring schemes and humorous characters PLUS there are dinosaur bones!

The story is lyrical with its rhyming sentences that flow in almost a song like way. As I read this aloud to my daughter who is a huge dinosaur fan at times I caught myself nearly singing some lines thanks to how well they flow which she thought was funny.

Even as an adult I didn’t know about show more this type of archeology’s early beginnings so I found the story fascinating which caused me to look up more about the early hunters and museums for us both. I think this is a wonderful way to introduce some historical context into a scientific dominated subject and plan to use this as a basis for some fun summer lessons.

It’s a wonderful book for caregivers and educators to use to stir up interest in how early settlers found the bones – before Jurassic Park made them popular. show less

An often overlooked diving and engineering success not only emerges in these pages, but it does so with a whirl of quirky rhyming fun.

Will Beebe had an idea and was soon joined by Otis Barton to build a diving sphere, which should go deeper than any possibility of that time. The Bathysphere was created. But things didn't always run smoothly, but they didn't give up.

Set in rhymes, this book takes a slightly humorous (and yet, serious) twist into Will Beebe and Otis Barton's invention of the show more Bathysphere. It's definitely quite a quirky ride and can't be read with paying attention. The word play is speedy and hits with a sense of ridiculousness while still sitting on fact and telling the tale of how the two men achieved their goals. It's never boring and raises more than a few eyebrows along the way. In other words, its a refreshing and fun way to bring across a piece of history.

While the poem itself is fast-paced and splashes excitement between the facts, there are several pages of (still entertaining) but more informational diagrams and displays on the last pages. There's also the mention of Gloria Hollister, who collaborated with Beebe and made her own marks in the diving world.

I received a complimentary copy and really enjoyed this mixture of fun and facts. So, I'm leaving my honest thoughts. show less

***This book was reviewed for Schiffer via Netgalley

In Sticks, 'N’ Stones, 'N’ Dinosaur Bones author Ted Enik introduces young readers to the 'bone wars’ and the birth of paleontology, the study of dinosaurs. Edward Drinker Cope and O Charles Marsh were two of the earliest paleontologists, and they loathed one another. Engaging in behaviour worthy of the most spoiled toddlers, each employed tactics such as sabotage and slander against the other. They were both stubborn, vengeful men, show more not above destroying fossils, lying, stealing, and blackmail to get their way.

Cope set to work fossil hunting in Colorado Territory, while Marsh started his work in Nebraska, each trying to find the best fossils so that their sponsoring universities would gain great acclaim. New discoveries turned to games of one-upmanship, and they disgraced themselves trying to be number one. Still, despite the ending to their careers, they did further the study of dinosaurs, and help grow the field of paleontology.

The story is written in clever, rhyming poetry, with beautiful illustrations covering each page. At the end of the story there's a small glossary of dinosaur named by each Bone Hunter. The glossary has more information on how the feud actually began. Marsh noticed Cope had placed the head of an aquatic dino on its long tail rather than its equally long neck. As the field of paleontology grew more refined, the number of 'new’ dinosaurs discovered by Marsh and Cope dwindled from 142 to a mere 32.

I find it so amusing that I received this book for review at the same time I got M Crichton's Dragon Teeth, an adult-oriented novel of the same feud. My cubs really enjoyed this book. We read it on my tablet, but ending up getting a hardcopy.

📚📚📚📚📚 Highly recommended for kids who love dinosaurs. show less