When Sue Found Sue

May 6, 2019
Sue Hendrickson began her life as a “shy and incredibly smart” girl with an insatiable curiosity about the natural world and a passion for finding lost objects. This interest blossomed into a career as an underwater archaeological excavation diver (“diving first for tropical fish, and then for lost boats, lost airplanes, and even lost cars”) and paleontologist. In Sudyka’s warmly detailed art, Hendrickson dives in tropical waters and digs for duck-billed dinosaur fossils in an arid landscape of striated rock. It’s an exciting moment when she, standing alone with her dog, sees a partial backbone in the rock and correctly envisions a T. rex; the remarkable find will come to be named after the finder herself. Readers who see treasure hunting as a viable profession will be heartened by Hendrickson’s pursuit of her passions. Ages 4–8.

April 1, 2019

Gr 1-4-Sue Hendrickson was a shy but smart and curious little girl who was constantly on the hunt for things. Whether searching for lost trinkets, butterfly wings, shells, or information from books she read, Hendrickson possessed a voracious appetite for knowledge. As she got older, her natural curiosity grew. She joined teams of explorers to find different creatures and artifacts from around the world. Soon, she found herself looking for the things she'd most want to find, namely fossilized dinosaurs. After four years of digging in South Dakota, Hendrickson discovered a nearly complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex. The skeleton, named in her honor, was one of the best-preserved fossils ever discovered and remains on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. This delightfully illustrated tale of discovery and wonderment works great as a research starter or supplement to paleontology, basic science, or museum studies, and includes further references. The images combine a sense of simplicity and detail with large, full-page illustrations, and smaller eye-catching pops of color to keep readers exploring. VERDICT Appropriate for readers and listeners of all ages, this book rewards passions for learning and passes those values on to its readers. A must-have title for explorers and dino lovers alike.-Thomas Jonte, Pensacola State College, FL

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2019
The story of the discovery of the most complete T. Rex fossil to date and the shy autodidact after whom it is named.Readers will definitely come away knowing at least two things about Sue Hendrickson (or three, counting the long blonde mane that makes her instantly locatable in Sudyka's outdoorsy scenes): first, that as a child she was shy--Buzzeo uses the word seven times in her short narrative--and second, that she was born to, as the author repeatedly puts it, "find things." As tantalizing references in both the main account and the afterword note, that curiosity has turned up a number of lost and hidden treasures, from amber to shipwrecks, but it is for Sue that she is best known. That discovery begins with four summers spent "digging for duckbills" in South Dakota, climaxed by the dramatic moment she spots "three enormous backbones" protruding from a cliff. The narrative continues through the painstaking process of removing the fossils bone by bone, then seeing the dinosaur at last reconstructed (after a long brangle over ownership) at Chicago's Field Museum. The prehistoric Sue poses regally at the close in both a painted portrait and a tailpiece photograph; though often seen alone, in group scenes, the white, human one works with a racially diverse set of colleagues.Tendentious role modeling commingled with an exciting tale of dino discovery. (source lists) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

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Starred review from March 15, 2019
Grades 1-4 *Starred Review* Few biographies can promise missing trinkets, prehistoric butterflies, sunken ships, [and] even buried dinosaurs, but Buzzeo's introduction to Sue Hendrickson delivers the goods. It opens with Sue as a pigtailed girl examining a collection of interesting objects she's found?a sparkling quartz geode, an arrowhead, a monarch butterfly wing, an earring, and more?amid a scattering of science books. Buzzeo is quick to establish that Sue is clever, shy, and curious, which makes her very good at finding things. As she grows up, these qualities lead her to an exciting life of discovery as a marine archaeologist and field paleontologist. The spreads depicting her digs for dinosaur fossils in South Dakota are awash in Sudyka's earth-pigmented gouache and watercolor paints that summon forth striated rock formations in rust, tan, and espresso. It's there that Sue makes her most famous discovery: the biggest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found, which is lovingly named Sue. Buzzeo's considerable storytelling skills zero in on fascinating details, such as the experience of unearthing fossils, while Sudyka's entrancing illustrations reflect this attention to detail and the passion Sue brought to her work. Additionally, it's refreshing to see a profile of a modern, female scientist who is respected in her field. An author's note and resource list round out this top-notch biography.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)