Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon by Jeannine Atkins

Faced with the critical attitudes of some members of her family (like Mary's Aunt Ruth), Mary's mother nevertheless encourages her daughter's ambitions, her curiosity (Mary must help around the house, but her mother never frowns upon or discourages her searches for curiosities). I appreciate how the author conveys both Mary Anning's curiosity and ingenuity, but also how supportive certain members of both her immediate family and the public seem to have been. This wonderful picture book by Jeannine Atkins (illustrated by Michael Dooling) describes Mary's momentous discovery in both an informative and emotionally satisfying style.

Show More made a palaeontological discovery, but it is generally accepted that she was the first individual to have discovered a complete skeleton of an ichthyosaur.