Mary's Monster is a charming biography of a pioneering woman fossil-hunter, who made many discoveries in the cliffs on the Dorset coast near Lyme (the place where Louisa Musgrove falls in [Persuasion]). Mary Anning grows up helping her father discover fossils, or "curiosities" during the off season, so they can clean them up and sell them to tourists to make extra money. When her father dies, Mary, still a child, takes to fossil-hunting to help provide much needed extra income. Her family helps her and her brother uncovers a strange skull. Then one day, after a great storm, Mary uncovers the rest of the skeleton. Just what is this monster? (The eventual answer: an ichthyosaur). This discovery helps Mary make a name for herself and she soon has friends and corresponds with scientists across the country. She never gets the kind of attention that a man would have, but eventually her friends get her a pension for her contributions to science.

A great biography about an important woman in the history of science. A bonus are the many lovely black-and-white pen-and-wash illustrations. It is probably best described as intermediate reading level and because of this focuses on her youth and summarizes the rest of her post-ichthyosaur life in the last chapter. Mary Anning has had more recent biographies written about her, but do any of them have a cover this fabulous? Definitely not. Highly recommended for those interesting in female scientists, the history of science, fossil-hunting, or Dorset. ( )