Baby Paleontologist

This board book primer introduces young readers to the field of paleontology, which young dino enthusiasts will be thrilled to learn involves dinosaur bones. The primer covers what fossils are, what paleontologists can learn from fossils, what tools a paleontologist might use, and the variety of places a paleontologist might explore for fossils. While the text is very basic, the transitions are noticeably disjointed, making the book feel abrupt and hard to follow. One page shows a mammoth and ancient bird and states “These animals lived on Earth a long time ago. Fossils help us imagine their lives.” On the next page, readers see Baby fishing in a river, and the text states, “Baby likes to fish.” While the point is to transition to river fossils—and the page depicting the same is fun with Baby swimming with snorkel and fins—the transition is awkward and confusing. The ending is similarly confusing, suggesting that perhaps all of Baby’s adventures have merely been the result of a wonderful story time session with his grandpa. Clever, for sure, but also unnecessary and a little deflating to the young reader who sees him or herself as a true dinosaur bone explorer by the end of the story. This story is best suited for the very passionate dino lover.