Dinosaur Named Sue: The World's Most Complete T. Rex

Full-color photos and illustrations enhance this comprehensive, factual tale about the finding and displaying of the world's most complete T. Rex, which can now be seen at the Field Museum of Chicago.

Gr 5-8-The discovery of a nearly complete T. rex by an observant woman walking her dog on a late summer day in 1990 was the fossil find of a lifetime, but the subsequent brouhaha over its ownership put the "Bone Wars" of the 1800s in the shade. Lawsuits, court cases, and the ultimate auction of "Sue" brought this magnificent discovery to the front pages of major newspapers, made headlines on TV newscasts, and created a furor in the scientific world. This exciting re-creation of that find and the sensational commotion it caused is fleshed out as the full process of extracting such a monumental skeleton, preparing it, and mounting it for public display is recounted. Enriched with clear color photos and a brilliant painting showing Sue in all her fearsome reality, the lucid and lively text records the "resurrection" and the new data Sue and fossils in the surrounding matrix have brought to light. For those who enjoyed Jack Horner's fascinating Digging up Tyrannosaurus Rex (Crown, 1992), J. Lynette Gillette's dramatic The Search for Seismosaurus (Dial, 1994), and Don Lessem's intriguing Bigger Than T. Rex (Crown, 1997), this is a treasure. It's sure to have rex-philes wheedling for Chicago vacations, where Sue resides in massive grace in the Field Museum.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3-6. Meet Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found. This begins with Susan Hendrickson's discovery of the dinosaur in South Dakota in 1990, followed by the unearthing of the bones, and the fossil's arrival at the Field Museum in Chicago. In a 65-million-year flashback, readers learn about life in the late Cretaceous period, when Sue lived. The closing chapters explain how the fossilized bones were packed, transported, CT scanned, cleaned, repaired, copied, and mounted on a specially designed armature for museum display. Readers will get a real sense of the team effort that science can be. The text, written with the assistance of several paleontologists at the Field Museum, is lucid and engaging. It also clearly states that birds are reptiles ("Modern reptiles include crocodiles, turtles, snakes, lizards, and birds"), a statement that warrants additional explanation. Many color photographs, as well as diagrams and paintings, appear throughout the book to illustrate Sue's story. Dinosaur fans will be fascinated. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved