The Fossil Keeper’s Treasure

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a long-time fan of the content put out by Amy Atwater and Meaghan Wetherell, originally at the Mary Anning’s Revenge blog, but more recently with their Weird & Dead podcast. (Meaghan also has a product line called Geopetal Fabric, which I’ve discusses on my own blog before.) Today’s review covers Amy’s debut children’s book, The Fossil Keeper’s Treasure!

The book introduces young readers to several fossil species from Earth’s past, presented in roughly chronological order. Readers will learn about Trilobites, Tiktaalik, Dimetrodon, Ammonites, Plesiosaurus, Archaeopteryx, Iguanodon, Tyrannosaurus rex, Australopithecus afarensis, and Smilodon over the course of these pages, capped off with a timeline in the back of the book that places each creature in the context of the planet’s history.

Each entry gives some brief information about each creature, including discussion of their physical features, the environments they lived in, and even occasionally the scientific history behind them. (One has to mention Mary Anning in the context of Plesiosaurus, after all!) I appreciated that Amy included the specific names for the trilobites (Olenoides) and ammonites (Promicroceras) featured in the book, something most children’s books wouldn’t bother with.

One of the main features of the book are the raised illustrations of fossils, allowing readers to feel the texture of the bones and shells depicted. It’s a fun extra dimension to the book that increases its appeal for youngsters (ah, what the heck, I enjoyed it too)!

Most of the illustrations are fairly good, though a few of the life reconstructions look a little wonky. The Tiktaalik is a bit gargoyle-ish looking, and the Iguanodon has a rather pointy face, to name a couple examples. There also seems to be some a bit of artistic copying going on. Papo models seem to have been directly referenced for a few of the dinosaurs, and it was pointed out to me that the Archaeopteryx illustration was ripped off from this illustration here. The fossil illustrations are impressively detailed, though, and in a few cases can even be matched to specific specimens!

I recommend checking out The Fossil Keeper’s Treasure; the illustrator could have done better, but overall it’s a good introduction to the featured prehistoric animals, and the tactile experience of the raised illustrations make for a fun bit of added value. This book is sure to be the delight of any prehistory-obsessed youngster!