The Fossil Whisperer: How Wendy Sloboda Discovered a Dinosaur

A captivating look at the life of a modern-day fossil hunter who makes the find of a lifetime told by award-winning author Helaine Becker.

Wendy has an eye for the unusual and is skilled at finding things that others don’t see. While on a school field trip at age 12, she spots one of those unusual things poking out of the ground, and it turns out to be a piece of fossilized coral that’s 100 million years old. Wendy’s thrilled! And soon, she gets hooked on finding fossils. When she grows up, Wendy turns her passion into her career and becomes a preeminent fossil hunter, known as the “fossil whisperer” around the world. But it’s on a dig close to home where Wendy makes her most important discovery: Wendiceratops!. Becker’s narrative is full of energy, allowing Wendy’s intelligence, independence and unconventional spirit to shine through. Sandra Dumais’s illustrations keep the visual appeal high, cleverly presenting the modern-day story with loads of details while giving readers a feel for the past when dinosaurs roamed the land, including two intriguing gatefolds that reveal further secrets. This readable biography of a unique female role model in the male-dominated field of paleontology has strong STEM connections in life science and paleontology and applications in Earth history. It includes a biographical note, more information about Wendiceratops and fossil hunting, a timeline, a glossary and further reading.