Fossil

My 7-year-old grandson has always loved dinosaurs. And wordless books. Fossil seemed like the perfect combination. At 99 cents, the book seemed worth a try.The illustrations are magical. The subject matter is ideal for a boy who often begins sentences with "If dinosaur were alive today . . . . " He says he liked the book because the boy didn't give up and used all his skills to save his dog.But the book is too short. The story can be "read" in about 2 minutes.When they were younger, both my grandsons loved David Wiesner's books Mr. Wuffles and Flotsam, as well as Mercer Mayer's Octopus Soup. The wordless books are complex and filled with a range of emotions. Something new can be found in the charming illustrations even after 100 "readings" of these books. And the boys insisted on many, many readings.The three books are, of course, more expensive than Fossil.For a quick one- or two-time read, Fossil is a great choice. For a book to keep, treasure, and read until the book is looking a bit worn, invest in one of the longer ones.

I gave this to my 6yr old daughter for Christmas and she loved it! She is really taking off with her reading and I bought this mistakenly thinking it had a word story accompanying the illustrated story. It is all illustrations but they are so beautiful, so amazing that words are not needed to tell this story. I was disappointed for a moment (because I'm trying to encourage my daughters fledging reading skills) until I "read" the story, flipping each page and following the storyline by looking at the amazing illustrations, but I was really impressed with the story and how it is told with those beautiful illustrations. I realized something after I finished the story....there may not be printed words for my daughter to practice on, but she has to use her imagination and critical thinking skills to follow a storyline using illustrations only. For this reason I found Fossil to be a beautiful book, a fun book, AND a learning tool....which was one of the reasons I bought it. I recommend this book to anyone, of any age, it's wonderful.

I like it as much as I love chalk (by this author) or Flotsam and Sector7 (by David Wiesner) or The snowman (by Raymond Brigg). I think it's the same quality in 'picture' and 'massage to readers'. About the end; a boy must destroy the dinosaur fossil, I see this as the only way to rescue his dog, it's okay. I compare it with ' I want my hat back' (by Jon Klassen). In 'I want my hat back' , at the end a bear decided to eat the rabbit who robbed his hat..., actually, no need to eat a rabbit. It's the difference between 2 books, which have a negative ending. Fossil is much better.

kids loved this book! Pictures were amazing. My class loved figuring out the story from the pictures since it has no words.

Most picture books have words and illustrations to read and enjoy. Wordless picture books lend themselves to interpretation, which is a good thing. Without words to read, your interpretation can be a focus point for discussion, debate, etc. The illustrations are fabulous!

The illustrations are excellent, but I felt as if the author was telling the exact same story as Chalk in a less interesting context.

A boy and his dog at the beach are having a good time until the boy finds a rock with a fossil inside it. Plants start to grow and large insects fly as the boy finds other fossils. It is not so fun when the boy finds a fossil of a flying dinosaur bone! His dog is picked up by the pterodactyl and the boy must figure out how to get his dog back and do away with a dangerous piece of the past that has come to life. The illustrations in this book are wonderful and beautiful. Expressions on the face of the boy are priceless.

My students love this book. They love all his books. Please keep writing!

You can’t beat a wordless picture book, and this delivers a simple story and opportunities to think and wonder. Reminds me of David Wiesner’s books. Well worth a look for £1

Real like illustrations and an imaginative story. Thomson is a genius/

Beautifully illustrated wordless book that tells the story with images alone. No language barrier issues. Great book for any 10 or younger child, but boys will likely enjoy this more, as they will identify with the main character. Nice large format book with a hardcover and slipcase. Not too many pages, either.

Beautiful illustrations. Bought for my niece who’s very into dinosaurs.

Great for his imagination. He and his grandmother love it. Quality product.