Dinosaurs make kids crazy. Usually in a good way—they are fascinated with stories about dinosaurs, they love seeing the skeletons in museums, and they can play endlessly with dino-shaped toys.
Sticks ’N’ Stones ’N’ Dinosaur Bones tells the story of two adults who were crazy about dinosaurs too. O. Charles Marsh and Edward D. Cope were paleontologists in the 19th Century who became known as the Bone Hunters. They searched out bones and fossils of dinosaurs.
Professors Marsh and Cope led the “Bone Wars,” also known as the Great Dinosaur Rush, from 1877 to 1892. They each selected a location in the United States to conduct their expeditions. The searches soon turned into competitions to see whose discovery was greater, and there was increasing pressure to find bigger and better treasure.
In Sticks ’N’ Stones ’N’ Dinosaur Bones, this pressure led Professors Marsh and Cope to engage in some questionable behavior. The note at the start of the book describes them using “less-than-ethical methods,” including lying, stealing, blackmail, and even destroying fossils. They attacked each other’s reputation and pointed out (and exploited) the other’s errors.
The book is told entirely in rhyme, with a substantial amount of humor built in (dinosaurs with names like “Watchumacaurus,” “Thingamasaurus,” “NeverWas Rex,” and “Phonybalone-us”). It is a lot of fun to read while learning more about this historical time.
The end pages of the book show pictures of actual dinosaurs that Professors Marsh and Cope found and named—Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and Dimetrodon, to name just a few. During their Bone Wars, the two rivals claimed to have discovered more than 142, although today’s paleontologists accept only 52 of those species.
Author Ted Enik has been an illustrator for the Magic School Bus series, Eloise, and the Fancy Nancy I Can Read series. Sticks ’N’ Stones ’N’ Dinosaur Bones is the first in his Unhinged History series. His original art can be found on his website at www.tedenik.com.
I was fortunate to receive an advance reader copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review. Many thanks to Mr. Enik and Schiffer Publishing!
Have you read any great books lately?
2 Cooks Crafting Books 