Dragon in the Cliff

Author: Sheila Cole

Main Character: Mary Anning

This is a fictional story based on the real life of Mary Anning. She was a woman born in 1799 who was instrumental in her contributions as a fossil hunter, excavator, and collector. Her unfortunate circumstances led her father to begin schooling her at the age of 7 to collect specimens from a rock cliff near where they lived. This was during hard times, for he was a cabinet-maker that could not make ends meet since the time of Napoleon. Her father used the curiosities to help supplement the family income to get by during those hard times. Mary was very interested in his curiosities. She learned all she could from him. He died when she was 12. Shortly after that her younger brother and sister both died from illness. It was just her mother and herself in the house then. Her oldest brother had gone to be apprenticed by the upholsterer. Mary delved head-first into finding the fossils. During that time she found the entire skeleton of what would later be called an ichthyosaur. Many people in the town did not approve of a girl hunting for fossils by herself down at the beach. She was shunned by a community and by the men that were known for their interests in Geology. She became a forerunner in the field from sheer determination. This story is a great one for perseverance and strength. She died at the age of 47. She was well-remembered by all who knew her. There were quite a few references to the Bible in this story but other than that it was a good book for middle school students. It was on my recommended list of science books. I used it this semester for my 6th graders and the ones that read it really seemed to like it.