This is a slightly humorous tale about the first two men who instigated the collection and promotion of Dinosaur bones discoveries.

Edward Drinker Cop and O. Charles Marsh, were the paleontologists w"who used unethical methods" in competing against each other during the years 1865 and the 1890s.

Several methods used are comically addressed through word and illustration.

The poetry and prose, throughout the tale, was well-written.

The slightly abstract illustrations by G.F. Newland, were colorful and well done, but not the type this reviewer is a fan of.

The Book Title and Cover are very well done and a "good fit". The book is made of a Covered Hardcover with heavy, quality paper pages.

This is recommended for children ages 8 to 12.
This earns a Four Stars rating.
*This book was gifted to me with no suggestion of a positive review.. This is my honest review. ( )

***This book was reviewed for Schiffer via Netgalley

In Sticks, 'N’ Stones, 'N’ Dinosaur Bones author Ted Enik introduces young readers to the 'bone wars’ and the birth of paleontology, the study of dinosaurs. Edward Drinker Cope and O Charles Marsh were two of the earliest paleontologists, and they loathed one another. Engaging in behaviour worthy of the most spoiled toddlers, each employed tactics such as sabotage and slander against the other. They were both stubborn, vengeful men, not above destroying fossils, lying, stealing, and blackmail to get their way.

Cope set to work fossil hunting in Colorado Territory, while Marsh started his work in Nebraska, each trying to find the best fossils so that their sponsoring universities would gain great acclaim. New discoveries turned to games of one-upmanship, and they disgraced themselves trying to be number one. Still, despite the ending to their careers, they did further the study of dinosaurs, and help grow the field of paleontology.

The story is written in clever, rhyming poetry, with beautiful illustrations covering each page. At the end of the story there's a small glossary of dinosaur named by each Bone Hunter. The glossary has more information on how the feud actually began. Marsh noticed Cope had placed the head of an aquatic dino on its long tail rather than its equally long neck. As the field of paleontology grew more refined, the number of 'new’ dinosaurs discovered by Marsh and Cope dwindled from 142 to a mere 32.

I find it so amusing that I received this book for review at the same time I got M Crichton's Dragon Teeth, an adult-oriented novel of the same feud. My cubs really enjoyed this book. We read it on my tablet, but ending up getting a hardcopy.

📚📚📚📚📚 Highly recommended for kids who love dinosaurs. ( )

The illustrations are going to grab your eye and have you journeying across the entire page with its minute details, vivacious coloring schemes and humorous characters PLUS there are dinosaur bones!

The story is lyrical with its rhyming sentences that flow in almost a song like way. As I read this aloud to my daughter who is a huge dinosaur fan at times I caught myself nearly singing some lines thanks to how well they flow which she thought was funny.

Even as an adult I didn’t know about this type of archeology’s early beginnings so I found the story fascinating which caused me to look up more about the early hunters and museums for us both. I think this is a wonderful way to introduce some historical context into a scientific dominated subject and plan to use this as a basis for some fun summer lessons.

It’s a wonderful book for caregivers and educators to use to stir up interest in how early settlers found the bones – before Jurassic Park made them popular.
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