‘She sells sea shells on the sea shore’ – and she really did! This rhyme is thought to have been written about Mary Anning, an amazing fossilist and dinosaur expert, who was almost unknown at the time she lived. This biography explores the life of Mary Anning, from her first fossil finds at the age of ten to her sales of important discoveries to wealthy scientists. Mary’s fossil finds made a great contribution to what scientist understood about pre-historic life.

Through the story of Mary Anning, readers learn about life and society in the 1800s and Victorian Britain. We learn what it was like to be born into a poor family and about the roles of women in society and in the field of science. Readers will learn to draw conclusions from the evidence provided – a great basis for class discussions.

History VIP biographies each look at the life of a famous Briton telling the stories of these Very Important People with clear, lively text. Amazing facts are added with feature panels and lively illustrations give visual information of the time and society the VIP lived in. With these key biographies students learn how individual people’s actions have shaped the course of history.

Key terms are defined in an easy-to-use glossary encouraging readers to use historical terms in their own work.

History VIPs biographies focus on key subjects in the history curriculum for Key Stages 2 and 3, exploring the impact of exceptional figures in history and the society and culture in Britain at the time that they lived.

Features include: In other news – these panels give context and help readers to understand the society and events of the wider world in which the subject lived True or False – questions lead students to question information and to interact with the facts they are presented with. What they said – quote features bring the subjects to life using their own words! WOW! – Boxes add humorous or amazing information to astound the reader and bring out the hilarious side of history