Mary Morland in the time of dinosaur discovery

Wry interrogative narration energizes this engaging portrait of scientist and illustrator Mary Morland (1797--1857). A picture of the subject as curious about the natural world emerges through mentions of 19th-century social norms ("Did she perch on her chair like a prim little miss? Well, what would you do if the whole world was waiting outside?"). Mentored by a scientifically minded family friend, Morland becomes an avid observer. A meet-cute eventually brings matrimony and motherhood into Morland's life while allowing her to sustain her scientific interests, as when her fossilist husband uses her illustrations to present his discovery of Megalosaurus bones. Potter's signature watercolor scenes suitably evoke the era's aesthetics. While Kurtz is candid about the way Morland "worked in the shadows," the overall telling emphasizes the figure's enthusiastic embrace of the world's wonders. An author's note concludes. Ages 4--8. (Feb.)

Before the worddinosaurexisted, a young female fossilist helped identify the creatures. How can a biographer truly know a subject's unrecorded emotions? With this immediate and engaging account, Kurtz solves that problem by asking readers how they might feel were they to experience what Mary Morland (1797-1857) went through, like being expected to sit decorously in a parlor rather than go outside exploring or being sent to live with friends after her mother's death. Immersing readers in historical context, Kurtz also challenges the conventions of the time by posing cheeky questions about whether Mary met these social expectations, then answering confidently in the negative. Instead, Mary collected shells and fossils, illustrated books by her husband, fossilist William Buckland, and traveled Europe with him, meeting scientists and visiting fossil sites. In Kurtz's perky prose, Mary springs to life as independent, curious, and relatable. Though the author emphasizes her subject's collaboration with Buckland, she acknowledges that women in science were usually unrecognized at the time. Nothing in the text indicates Mary's or her husband's English nationality, though we might deduce it from the author's note. Potter's delicate pastel illustrations evoke the naïve art of the period, as well as its social setting. One image depicts Mary's many children romping in their "household of chaos." These scenes perfectly suit the text's project of relevance and inspiration. A delightful STEAM biography that spotlights a female scientist who deserves to be better known. (bibliography, further reading)(Informational picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.