***This book was reviewed for Schiffer via Netgalley
In Sticks, ‘N’ Stones, ‘N’ Dinosaur Bones author Ted Enik introduces young readers to the ‘bone wars’ and the birth of paleontology, the study of dinosaurs. Edward Drinker Cope and O Charles Marsh were two of the earliest paleontologists, and they loathed one another. Engaging in behaviour worthy of the most spoiled toddlers, each employed tactics such as sabotage and slander against the other. They were both stubborn, vengeful men, not above destroying fossils, lying, stealing, and blackmail to get their way.
Cope set to work fossil hunting in Colorado Territory, while Marsh started his work in Nebraska, each trying to find the best fossils so that their sponsoring universities would gain great acclaim. New discoveries turned to games of one-upmanship, and they disgraced themselves trying to be number one. Still, despite the ending to their careers, they did further the study of dinosaurs, and help grow the field of paleontology.
The story is written in clever, rhyming poetry, with beautiful illustrations covering each page. At the end of the story there’s a small glossary of dinosaur named by each Bone Hunter. The glossary has more information on how the feud actually began. Marsh noticed Cope had placed the head of an aquatic dino on its long tail rather than its equally long neck. As the field of paleontology grew more refined, the number of ‘new’ dinosaurs discovered by Marsh and Cope dwindled from 142 to a mere 32.
I find it so amusing that I received this book for review at the same time I got M Crichton’s Dragon Teeth, an adult-oriented novel of the same feud. My cubs really enjoyed this book. We read it on my tablet, but ending up getting a hardcopy.
????? Highly recommended for kids who love dinosaurs.
