The Fossil Whisperer: How Wendy Sloboda Discovered a Dinosaur by Helaine Becker

Wendy loved hunting through hills and gullies for unusual things like rocks, birds, burrs and bird feathers. She also loved to take pictures of her finds with her camera.

During a class field trip to the badlands near her home in Alberta, twelve-year-old Wendy discovered a piece of fossilized coral.  Her teacher explained that "Millions of years ago, this land was the Western Interior Seaway - an underwater world teeming with marine life." 

Wendy was intrigued by the information a fossil could provide about the past and so she began hunting for fossils in earnst. Her favourite place to hunt for fossils was Devil's Coulee, part of the badlands. Soon she was finding many fossils. 

When she was seventeen, Wendy made an rare find - a fossilized dinosaur eggshell. This discovery brought paleontologists to Devil's Coulee to explore for more fossils and they found them: more fossilized dinosaur eggs from Hypacrosaurus. Even more  important was the discovery of dinosaur embryos in the fossilized eggs!

These discoveries led to Wendy working at the Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology and traveling the world to find fossils in other countries, including Greenland and Mongolia.

Wendy continued to hunt for fossils in Alberta, uncovering the fossil of a unique horned dinosaur. Because the rest of the fossilized remains of the dinosaur were buried deep, it took four years to excavate and extract the bones. Paleontologists were able to determine that this was the remains of a new horned dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. The dinosaur was named after Wendy, Wendiceratops pinhorensis. Meanwhile, Wendy continues to find fossils.

Discussion

Wendy Sloboda is a Canadian fossil hunter who has made many significant fossil discoveries over the past few decades that have led to a great understanding of dinosaurs. Born in Warner, Alberta, Sloboda found her first significant fossil in 1987 as a teenager. This discovery was of fossil eggshells, as described in Becker's picture book that led scientists to discover several nests of duck-billed dinosaurs called hadrosaurs. Other notable finds include a fossilized turtle containing eggs, the footprint of a new ichnospecies of dinosaur, as well as her discovery of a new species of horned dinosaur which was named in her honour.

Becker's detailed account of Slobada's contributions to paleontology includes some information on the types of animals that populated the Western Interior Seaway, and explanations as to why the discovery of the  Hypacrosaurus embryos was so significant. Becker's research for the book included interviewing Wendy Sloboda.

Telling Wendy Sloboda's story in picture book format does make her contributions accessible to younger readers but photographs of locations and of Wendy would have been nice additions to the book. A map showing Wendy's hometown, the location of the Alberta badlands (including some photographs of this unusual landform) her discoveries would also be helpful. Sandra Dumais' colourful digital illustrations round out the story.

Included in the back matter are several pages with information about the real Wendy, How to Be a Fossil Hunter, Alberta's Amazing Bone Beds (a picture of the Alberta badlands would have done nicely here), How Are Fossils Formed?, About Wendiceratops, a Glossary and where to find more information.

The Fossil Whisperer will help inspire a new generation of girls to consider geology and paleontology as potential career options. Wendy Sloboda's life demonstrates that a childhood interest can develop into a life-long career.

Book Details:

The Fossil Whisperer: How Wendy Sloboda Discovered a Dinosaur by Helaine Becker
Toronto: Kids Can Press      2022