Dinosaur Mummies: Beyond Bare-Bone Fossils by Kelly Milner Halls  was a Junior Literary Guild selection for Spring 2003, and it's no wonder why. The book is an excellent addition to the genre of mummy books and will thrill anyone who loves mummies and dinosaurs--an unbeatable combination. And I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this book inspired some kids to become paleontologists one day.

What is particularly nice about the book is that it is so personally told. Rather than a dry, third person approach to the mummies, Halls jumps right in with her connection to the subject, growing up in Texas and tracing her own interest in dinosaur mummies. Her enthusiasm for the subject is contagious!

After the introduction, she defines the term "fossil" and explains why fossilized bone and fossilized tissue are so different to researchers. Although the term "mummy" is hardly accurate in its application to fossilized tissue (from an archaeologist's point of view), Halls makes a case for the use of the term: the dinosaurs under discussion in this book are, she writes, "fossilized mummies--made of stone. Scientists haven't solved the mystery of the fossilized dinosaur yet. They think that in some special instances, dinosaur skin turned to leather before the dead animal was buried or had decomposed."

From there, Halls takes the reader on a chronological tour of various dinosaur mummy discoveries, starting with the 1908 discovery of the Sternberg mummies. She moves on to the fossilized discoveries in 1980 of a baby dinosaur in Italy, in 1990 of a dinosaur "with heart" in South Dakota,  in 1994 of a feathered dinosaur in China, and in 1997 of titanosaur embryos in Argentina. 

She leads the reader to the final major find: Leonardo, "the king of dinosaur mummies." Discovered in Montana in 2000, Leonardo was "the most complete mummified dinosaur that has ever been found." Almost three-fourths of his skin had been preserved. Halls not only describes the discovery in exciting detail but clearly explains why the discovery is so important. 

A final chapter summarizes other finds that have been made, mostly by focusing on the researchers who uncovered the discoveries. The final paleontologist is Dr. Karen Chin whose claim to fame is the study of dinosaur coprolites (or, to put it bluntly, fossilized dinosaur poop). Kids will probably be stunned to learn that she studied a 17-inch long coprolite, once deposited by a T-Rex. Plus a photo is provided so they can see it for themselves.

Halls is an exuberant writer, who uses puns and a lively style to enliven her stories. Kids will truly enjoy this book. What will also appeal to them--and to educators--is the supplemental material that Halls provides: web site links (to museums and articles), annotated book and video lists, digsite locations--this makes it a research guide and activity book as well. Considering that many nonfiction kids' books don't provide a bibliography or an index, the six pages Halls offers are an abundant offering.

With over 65 photos and illustrations, most in color, 48 pages. Highly recommended.

More books about dinosaurs and dinosaur mummies