Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon

Jeannine Atkins; Illustrated by Michael Dooling

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Download Image Jeannine Atkins; Illustrated by Michael Dooling Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon
Buy it now

Available Formats

Book
The girl who found the first sea reptile fossil

Mary Anning loved to scour the shores of Lyme Regis, England, where she was born in 1799, for stone sea lilies and shells. Her father had taught her how to use the tools with which she dug into the sand and scraped at the stones that fell from the cliffs. And he had taught her how to look, to look hard, for "curiosities."

One day, when she was eleven, Mary Anning spotted some markings on a wide, flat stone. She chipped at it with her hammer and chisel until the lines of a tooth emerged--and then those of another tooth. Weeks of persistent effort yielded a face about four feet long. But what creature was this? Her brother called it a sea dragon.

Many months later, Mary Anning still had not unearthed what she only then learned was called a fossil. But she found out that her discovery was precious and that the painstaking effort to uncover traces of ancient life was profoundly important. Jeannine Atkins's sensitive and engaging portrait is strikingly illustrated by Michael Dooling, whose powerful paintings capture young Mary Anning's devotion to her work, and all the joy she found in it.

Connect with the Author

Macmillan Newsletter

Sign up to receive information about new books, author events, and special offers.

Sign up now

Reviews

Praise for Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon

"A sensitive . . . portrait of the real-life discoverer of the first complete ichthyosaur fossil . . . The patience and dogged determination of the unconventional Mary shines through." --Publishers Weekly

"Smoothly crafted." --School Library Journal

Reviews from Goodreads

Back

About the Author

Jeannine Atkins; Illustrated by Michael Dooling

Jeannine Atkins, a former high school English teacher, is the author of three other picture books, including A Name on the Quilt, illustrated by Tad Hills. Intrigued by the mix of legends and facts surrounding Mary Anning, the author visited Lyme Regis, and there conceived her interpretation of the events leading to Mary Anning's lifelong search for fossils. Jeannine Atkins lives with her family in Whately, Massachesetts.

Michael Dooling has illustrated numerous books for children. Among them are George Washington: A Picture Book Biography by James Cross Giblin and O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi and Other Stories. He lives in Audubon, New Jersey, with his wife, Jane, and her daughters, Rachel and Lisa.

Jeannine Atkins
Michael Dooling

Peter Laird
Jeannine Atkins

Official Sites

Related Links

Michael Dooling

Official Sites

Related Links

Back

Buy the Book

Available Formats and Book Details

Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon
Jeannine Atkins; Illustrated by Michael Dooling
Award

NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies

Hardcover

Hardcover
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
September 1999
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780374348403
ISBN10: 0374348405
Picture Book Nonfiction
8 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches, 32 pages, Includes full-color illustrations throughout
Age Range: 5 to 10
Grade Range: 2 to 5
$16.95
Back

From The Publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Latest on Facebook

Latest on Twitter

Back

{ About }

{ Services }

{ Store }

{ Publishers }

Education

Children's

© 2011 Macmillan