the fossil whisperer

how wendy sloboda discovered a dinosaur

WRITTEN BY HELAINE BECKER

ILLUSTRATED BY SANDRA DUMAIS

Wendy has an eye for the unusual and is good at finding things that others don’t see. While on a school field trip at age 12, she spots something unusual poking out of the ground. It turns out to be a piece of fossilized coral that’s 100 million years old! 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 around the world as the “fossil whisperer.” But it’s on a dig close to home where Wendy makes her most important discovery … a dinosaur that will change our understanding of how horned dinosaurs evolved.

• 2022 Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children’s Book Centre

• 2022 Ontario Library Association Best Bets List

• “An entertaining account of a remarkable fossil hunter and an educational journey into the world of dinosaur fossils.” Kirkus Reviews

• “Recommended for early nonfiction collections and any shelf emphasizing STEM titles or biographies of women.” School Library Journal

• “Cheerful scenes primarily showcase the work that goes into paleontology. Becker’s easygoing, exclamation-filled prose, meanwhile, makes Sloboda’s interest feel relatable, amplifying the joy of scientific discovery.” Publisher’s Weekly