The First Dinosaur

August 15, 2019
How does a new, truly revolutionary idea become established scientific fact? Lendler spins his account of how the awesome age and significance of fossils came to be understood into a grand yarn that begins 168 million years ago. He fast-forwards to 1676 and the first recorded fossil fragment of what was later named Megalosaurus and builds on the premise of "The Blind Men and the Elephant" to trace the ensuing, incremental accretion of stunning evidence over the next two centuries that the Earth is far older than the Bible seems to suggest and was once populated by creatures that no longer exist. It's a story that abounds in smart, colorful characters including Mary Anning, Richard Owen (a brilliant scholar but "a horrible human being"), and Gideon Mantell, "a dude who really, really loved fossils." Along the way the author fills readers in on coprolites ("the proof was in the pooing"), highlights the importance of recording discoveries, and explains how the tentative suggestion that certain fossils might have come from members of the "Lizard Tribe" morphed into the settled concept of "dinosaur." Though he tells a Eurocentric tale, the author incorporates references to sexism and class preconceptions into his picture of scientific progress. Butzer's illustrations add decorative and, sometimes, comical notes to sheaves of side notes, quotations, charts, maps, and period portraits and images. An outstanding case study in how science is actually done: funny, nuanced, and perceptive. (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-15)

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November 1, 2019

Gr 5 Up-Seventeenth-century Europeans, heavily influenced by the Bible, first credited fossils as proof of heavenly power. The interest surrounding these discoveries closely tracks the development of European science, particularly since the time of Robert Hooke and the earliest modern microscopes. One of Lendler's persistent subtexts is the gradual triumph of scientific research and reasoning over religious dogmatism. For instance, it wasn't until just after the French Revolution that Georges Cuvier, a paleontologist at the French National Museum of Natural History, was able to establish that species can become extinct. The book's design is vibrant and inviting. Each page features multiple illustrations, including contemporaneous engravings, photographs, portraits, pull quotes, reproductions of pages from historical books, and drawings and paintings. Complementary text boxes outline related topics, such as the 11th-century Chinese scholar Shen Kuo's writings about soil layers or the naming of the Jurassic period in the 18th century by naturalist Alexander Von Humboldt. The volume closes with a comprehensive list of image credits and a bibliography, but no online resources. There are no source notes or citations for text. VERDICT Both a dinosaur book and a history book, this is a fascinating narrative history. A first purchase for middle and elementary schools, and an easy sell for students interested in science or history.-Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA

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