When Sue Found Sue: Sue Hendrickson Discovers Her T. Rex by Toni Buzzeo (review)

Shy, curious, and a bit of a loner, Sue Hendrickson found satisfaction in exploring nature around her northwest Indiana home and at the Field Museum in nearby Chicago. As an adult, this interest translated into work as a professional explorer at sites as diverse as sea (recovery of lost planes and boats), amber mines (seeking preserved remains of extinct butterflies), and the Peruvian desert (hunting prehistoric whale fossils). Her personal coup, however, came in South Dakota in 1990, when as a member of a commercial team she sighted vertebrae of a T. rex that would rank among the most famous dinosaur discoveries—a nearly complete fossilized skeleton in excellent condition. Now housed at the Field Museum, the reconstructedT. rex is known to visitors as Sue, named after its discoverer. In this picture book, Buzzeo takes her time getting through reminders of young Hendrickson's curiosity and shyness and onto the main event; even once the big discovery arrives, there are relatively few particulars offered on how one removes a dino from rock and transports it across country, much less what a now-noted discoverer does with the rest of her career. A closing note briefly and tepidly mentions the controversy of theT. rex fossils ("Unfortunately, Sue Hendrickson's great find was followed by a long and bitter dispute among various people who believed they owned Sue") without addressing the possible merits of any of those claims. Although younger dino fans craving anything about T. Rex need to know this chapter of paleontology and enjoy the gouache and watercolor art, true dinomaniacs may regard this as a lightweight read. Lists of resources for adults and children are included. EB