The epic story of the beginning of life on Earth from the much loved and respected naturalist, writer and broadcaster, Sir David Attenborough. Spanning billions of years, Attenborough's time-travelling narrative brings the reader face to face with the first animals that ever existed. By using the latest technology, we are finally able to see for ourselves how these early animals would have looked like and how they would have lived. Attenborough also...

Rome, A.D. 306. Emperor Constantine converts the Roman Empire to Christianity. Over the next two decades, his armies destroy pagan idols across Europe and the Middle East. England, A.D. 1830. Paleontologist Mary Anning writes to Sir Richard Owen, describing a fossil that she discovered in the cliffs of Lyme-Regis. She writes that the fossil is a large wing made of black bone. Montana, A.D. 2023. Sixteen-year-old Molly Wilder discovers a mysterious...

Mummies can't talk; but with modern scientific tools, we can still discover what a mummy has to tell us. Read the stories of mummified Egyptian pharaohs and priestesses, baby elephants, pampered pets, and even a prehistoric bison. Uncover clues to centuries-old murder mysteries and human sacrifices, and even find out what a person or animal had for their last meal! Information from real scientists explains how we know what we know about each mummy....

A comprehensive study of the Late Cretaceous, duck-billed dinosaur, featuring insights on its origins, anatomy, and more. Hadrosaurs-also known as duck-billed dinosaurs-are abundant in the fossil record. With their unique complex jaws and teeth perfectly suited to shred and chew plants, they flourished on Earth in remarkable diversity during the Late Cretaceous. So ubiquitous are their remains that we have learned more about dinosaurian paleobiology...

See what lies beneath an animal's skin! BONE COLLECTION: ANIMALS will feature a wide selection of animal skeletons and informative facts so kids can learn about the anatomy of their favorite animals. Featuring full-color photos and illustrations throughout, it will be just creepy enough to appeal to kids without being scary. From tiny animals like bats to large animals like lions, kids will discover what lies beneath their favorite animal's skin....

This guide to the South Dakota region that houses the world's richest fossil beds does "an excellent job of presenting the current state of knowledge" (Choice). The forbidding Big Badlands in Western South Dakota contain the richest fossil beds in the world. Even today these rocks continue to yield new specimens brought to light by snowmelt and rain washing away soft rock deposited on a floodplain long ago. The quality and quantity of the fossils...

Twelve million years ago, rhinos, elephants, and camels roamed North America. They would gather at nearby watering holes-eating, drinking, and trying not to become someone else's lunch. But one day, in what we now know as Nebraska, everything changed. The explosion of a supervolcano a thousand miles away sent a blanket of ash that buried these animals for millennia. Until 1953, when a seventeen-year-old farm worker made an unbelievable discovery. Rhinos...

An in-depth look at the origin and evolutionary radiation of the synapsids. About 320 million years ago a group of reptiles known as the synapsids emerged and forever changed Earth's ecological landscapes. This book discusses the origin and radiation of the synapsids from their sail-backed pelycosaur ancestor to their diverse descendants, the therapsids or mammal-like reptiles, that eventually gave rise to mammals. It further showcases the remarkable...

Meat eaters, plant eaters…stomp through a world of the scariest, largest creatures that walked prehistoric Earth. Learn how paleontologists--dinosaur detectives--uncover the important clues that have revealed what we know about these terrifying animals. Amazing photos and simple text make this book a great high-interest read.

Digging in the badlands of Montana, workers from the Burpee Museum of Natural History have spent weeks hunting for fossils. On their last day of prospecting they make a great find: the toe bone of a meat-eating dinosaur. Judith Williams takes us on this adventure, from the dig site to the creation and opening of the museum exhibit. The dinosaur named Jane is different from any found before and it's up to scientists at the museum to identify her. In...