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Fossil
When a boy and his dog go for a hike, the boy trips on a fossil, and it comes to life, revealing an ancient plant. The boy is so intrigued that he breaks two more fossils that come to life—a dragonfly and a pteranodon. When these prehistoric creatures collide with present reality, the boy must figure out a way to make things go back to normal. Visually told through art, this "wordless story" will surely spark imagination and creativity.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published November 5, 2013
21 people are currently reading
388 people want to read
About the author
Bill Thomson
17Ìýbooks81Ìýfollowers Bill Thomson lives in Southington, Connecticut with his wife, Diann, and their three sons, Billy, Nik, and Ethan. Bill has illustrated Karate Hour, Building With Dad, Baseball Hour, and Soccer Hour, all written by Carol Nevius. Bill's also created the wordless books, CHALK, FOSSIL, and THE TYPEWRITER. Bill is a Professor of Illustration at the Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford.
Most of my book ratings are books that I own... and a couple of others that I have seen and enjoyed.
Most of my book ratings are books that I own... and a couple of others that I have seen and enjoyed.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
June 7, 2017
To see this week's wordless picture books, please visit
Fossil by Bill Thomson is a picture book about a boy and his dog who discover a fossil while visiting the beach. The boy's imagination runs wild and the fossils come alive! As the prehistoric creatures come to life, he has to figure out how he's going to get everything back to normal again.
When we were reading this, it reminded us of , another wordless book we recently read and reviewed last week by this same author. The beautiful illustrations are made with acrylic paint and colored pencils. The ideas are also very similar. We loved it!
You can find this one for free with Kindle Unlimited today!
5
Fossil by Bill Thomson is a picture book about a boy and his dog who discover a fossil while visiting the beach. The boy's imagination runs wild and the fossils come alive! As the prehistoric creatures come to life, he has to figure out how he's going to get everything back to normal again.
When we were reading this, it reminded us of , another wordless book we recently read and reviewed last week by this same author. The beautiful illustrations are made with acrylic paint and colored pencils. The ideas are also very similar. We loved it!
You can find this one for free with Kindle Unlimited today!
5
March 29, 2014
5 stars for the picture of the surprised spaniel riding the dinosaur
4 stars for imagination, illustration, action..
2 stars because of the mixed message of destroying the fossils.
4 stars for imagination, illustration, action..
2 stars because of the mixed message of destroying the fossils.
November 20, 2013
One of the wonderful things about wordless picture books is the opportunity to create one's own version of the story. There is so much room for using one's own imagination to explain what one sees or to even add more details. The discussion possibilities are endless, limited only to the imagination of those reading the book. Bill Thomson's new book, Fossil, offers so much in terms of opportunities to discuss fossils, dinosaurs, and other aspects of science in addition to the fun story itself. And the idea of fossils coming to life is an enthralling idea that I have no doubt that kids will love. The illustrations are gorgeous and full of life. And it's clear the illustrator did his homework, the fern, dragonfly and pteranodon all look quite real. And the expressions on the boy's face as the fossils come to life around him are humorous. All in all, a fabulous read.
February 24, 2018
Fossil is a fictional wordless picture book about a boy and his dog discovering fossils on a beach. This book is likely written for intermediate children. I really enjoyed this book because of the illustration of a child’s imagination coming to life is so sweet. I always had a vivid imagination when I was a kid. this book would be a great introduction to the different kinds of fossils—not just dinosaurs—that are in the world.
December 27, 2013
In the same vein as CHALK, Thomson uses eye-boggling double spreads with remarkable perspectives in this wordless book to consider fossils and the living things from which they were formed. This is an ideal pairing with Eric Rohmann's TIME FLIES. Both allow for open-ended discussions and serve to launch research.
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February 15, 20191) None
2) Pre-K to 2nd
3) Fossil by Bill Thomson is a world-less picture book about a young boy and his dog who discover a fossil while on a hike with his dog. The fossil they find comes alive into a plant, and the boy goes on to find two more fossils which also come alive. The boy then realizes that he must get life back to normal.
4) I think that the illustrations in this book are really good at engaging the reader and allowing them to understand the character’s emotion. The pictures are full of potential for how the story can be interpreted in which sparks imagination and creativity within the reader. I really enjoyed the details included on each page and I think they were really good at making the story feel alive.
5) This book could be used in a classroom to teach both science and history. While this book focuses on fossils from dinosaurs, it can be a perfect lee way into learning about all the different types of fossils that existed in the past. Children can use pictures or clay fossils to make guesses on what creatures they came from or even make their own fossils of their favorite items.
2) Pre-K to 2nd
3) Fossil by Bill Thomson is a world-less picture book about a young boy and his dog who discover a fossil while on a hike with his dog. The fossil they find comes alive into a plant, and the boy goes on to find two more fossils which also come alive. The boy then realizes that he must get life back to normal.
4) I think that the illustrations in this book are really good at engaging the reader and allowing them to understand the character’s emotion. The pictures are full of potential for how the story can be interpreted in which sparks imagination and creativity within the reader. I really enjoyed the details included on each page and I think they were really good at making the story feel alive.
5) This book could be used in a classroom to teach both science and history. While this book focuses on fossils from dinosaurs, it can be a perfect lee way into learning about all the different types of fossils that existed in the past. Children can use pictures or clay fossils to make guesses on what creatures they came from or even make their own fossils of their favorite items.
February 15, 2019
1. None
2. AGE LEVELS: 3-7
3. A boy and his dog go for a hike. The boy trips over a fossil while walking. The fossil comes to life, which results in the boy looking for more fossils that also come to life.
4. The illustrations really help the children reading the book understand the story trying to be told, as well with giving the children the chance to create their own details to the book. The book also ties in the prehistorical past by using the fossils. The book allows creativity by the children reading it when they book the book into words.
5. This book can be used to tie a science lesson into the class. Also, if there are students who are really interested in fossils and prehistorical animals this book can drawer their attention.
2. AGE LEVELS: 3-7
3. A boy and his dog go for a hike. The boy trips over a fossil while walking. The fossil comes to life, which results in the boy looking for more fossils that also come to life.
4. The illustrations really help the children reading the book understand the story trying to be told, as well with giving the children the chance to create their own details to the book. The book also ties in the prehistorical past by using the fossils. The book allows creativity by the children reading it when they book the book into words.
5. This book can be used to tie a science lesson into the class. Also, if there are students who are really interested in fossils and prehistorical animals this book can drawer their attention.
February 12, 2019
Awards: None
Grade Level: Prek-2
Summary: While on a walk, a boy and his dog finds a fossil. The fossil comes to life! Together, the boy and his dog had to figure out how to return to reality.
My Review: I love the illustrations of the book and how each student can interpret the story differently. I would recommend this book for young kids because everyone loves dinosaurs.
In Class: This book can be used to segue into a science unit about observations and fossils/dinosaurs. We could even make our own fossils (clay and plastics toys) and then use that to write our own stories.
Grade Level: Prek-2
Summary: While on a walk, a boy and his dog finds a fossil. The fossil comes to life! Together, the boy and his dog had to figure out how to return to reality.
My Review: I love the illustrations of the book and how each student can interpret the story differently. I would recommend this book for young kids because everyone loves dinosaurs.
In Class: This book can be used to segue into a science unit about observations and fossils/dinosaurs. We could even make our own fossils (clay and plastics toys) and then use that to write our own stories.
February 24, 2018
Wordless Book Entry #2
Genre- Fossil by Bill Thomson is fantasy fiction book. Fantasy fiction books include elements of make believe, such as talking animals. In this book there are magical fossils that the animal comes to life and dogs flying on dinosaurs. This book is a primary level book and would be perfect for grades preschool-third grade.
Text-to-Self- The boy in this book found rocks and realized they were really fossils, so he cracked them open and found really awesome things inside, such as a dragonfly and dinosaur coming to life. This reminded me of geodes. Geodes are rocks that are ugly on the outside but on the inside they are really beautiful crystals. My husband and I have a lot of geodes, because it’s something we began collecting when we were dating. The fossils in the book reminded me of the geodes.
Text-to-Text- This book reminded me of the first Jurassic Park movie. In Jurassic Park they find a mosquito in Amber and the mosquito has blood from dinosaurs, so they are able to genetically engineer dinosaurs. When the boy in the book opens the fossils, the different things to come life, such as the plants, dragonfly, and the dinosaur. Then the boy looks scared when the dinosaur comes to life and begins to chase him. That also reminded me of when the dinosaurs chase people in Jurassic Park. Thankfully in the book the boy just has to break the fossils to make the dinosaur, plant, and dragonfly go away again.
Text-to-World- I feel this book has a good real world lesson that students could learn from the book. This book reminded me of how things are not always as they appear. The boy thought he just found a rock, but then learned that it was actually a fossil that comes to life when broken open. I think it is an important lesson for people to learn that things can be different than they appear, such as people. A lot of people judge others based on how they look, but on the inside they could be completely different in good ways and bad ways. This is an important lesson than everyone, especially kids should learn. �
Genre- Fossil by Bill Thomson is fantasy fiction book. Fantasy fiction books include elements of make believe, such as talking animals. In this book there are magical fossils that the animal comes to life and dogs flying on dinosaurs. This book is a primary level book and would be perfect for grades preschool-third grade.
Text-to-Self- The boy in this book found rocks and realized they were really fossils, so he cracked them open and found really awesome things inside, such as a dragonfly and dinosaur coming to life. This reminded me of geodes. Geodes are rocks that are ugly on the outside but on the inside they are really beautiful crystals. My husband and I have a lot of geodes, because it’s something we began collecting when we were dating. The fossils in the book reminded me of the geodes.
Text-to-Text- This book reminded me of the first Jurassic Park movie. In Jurassic Park they find a mosquito in Amber and the mosquito has blood from dinosaurs, so they are able to genetically engineer dinosaurs. When the boy in the book opens the fossils, the different things to come life, such as the plants, dragonfly, and the dinosaur. Then the boy looks scared when the dinosaur comes to life and begins to chase him. That also reminded me of when the dinosaurs chase people in Jurassic Park. Thankfully in the book the boy just has to break the fossils to make the dinosaur, plant, and dragonfly go away again.
Text-to-World- I feel this book has a good real world lesson that students could learn from the book. This book reminded me of how things are not always as they appear. The boy thought he just found a rock, but then learned that it was actually a fossil that comes to life when broken open. I think it is an important lesson for people to learn that things can be different than they appear, such as people. A lot of people judge others based on how they look, but on the inside they could be completely different in good ways and bad ways. This is an important lesson than everyone, especially kids should learn. �
March 1, 2014
This is a perfectly drawn story and the pictures look realistic. It makes you believe that you are discovering the fossils yourself.
Text to Self:
This story made me realize how our imaginations can lead us into amazing adventures. As a kid, my best friend and I used to pretend our sand box, shaped like a boat, was on a mission to save abandoned dolphins or whales. This made me think about all the times I would wonder off in my imagination. I also liked how in the story the boy had his dog with him the whole time. Often times our "dolphins" were either my dog or her dog that we would rescue.
Text to Text:
When reading this book, I thought of the series that I used to read also as a child, The Berenstain Bears. When I saw that they published a book over Called Dinosaur Dig, I had to read this to my students. I loved reading Berenstain Bears as a kid and figured my students would as well. Although in this story the fossils do not come to life like they did in Fossil, but it makes you wonder what would happen if bones could come to life and if they could talk.
Text to World:
This book shows a glimpse of what it would be like to be an archeologist. I think part of the reason why someone becomes an archeologist is because they see the beauty in history and want that part of history to come back to life. I think also another moral of this story is discovering your own history. Granted when this boy discovered a part of history, he saw the danger of bringing something back to life, but not all history is meant to be scary.
Text to Self:
This story made me realize how our imaginations can lead us into amazing adventures. As a kid, my best friend and I used to pretend our sand box, shaped like a boat, was on a mission to save abandoned dolphins or whales. This made me think about all the times I would wonder off in my imagination. I also liked how in the story the boy had his dog with him the whole time. Often times our "dolphins" were either my dog or her dog that we would rescue.
Text to Text:
When reading this book, I thought of the series that I used to read also as a child, The Berenstain Bears. When I saw that they published a book over Called Dinosaur Dig, I had to read this to my students. I loved reading Berenstain Bears as a kid and figured my students would as well. Although in this story the fossils do not come to life like they did in Fossil, but it makes you wonder what would happen if bones could come to life and if they could talk.
Text to World:
This book shows a glimpse of what it would be like to be an archeologist. I think part of the reason why someone becomes an archeologist is because they see the beauty in history and want that part of history to come back to life. I think also another moral of this story is discovering your own history. Granted when this boy discovered a part of history, he saw the danger of bringing something back to life, but not all history is meant to be scary.
March 30, 2015
I thought this wordless book was really cute! It shows a young boy with his dog who stumbles across a few different fossils. As he finds the fossils the thing that was the fossil becomes real and alive. The last fossil that he finds is of a dinosaur print and the dinosaur ends up flying away with his dog. The boy then discovers if he breaks the fossil, the thing that was the fossil goes away. He then breaks the fossil of the dinosaur and saves his dog. I thought this would be a really clever way to introduce a lesson about fossils or dinosaurs, while tying the lesson into English, Language, or Reading. Students that struggle with reading or are possible ELLs are able to see the pictures and the story and learn the necessary vocabulary to go with it. This also shows that fossils can be of dinosaurs, plants, or bugs... not just the typical dinosaur bones that children mostly think about with fossils. I actually planned a lesson in one of my other classes that is about dinosaurs and fossils and this would be a great book to incorporate for differentiated learning. I thought this book would make a great twin-text to "Dinosaurs!" by Monica Molina that talks about different facts about dinosaurs and fossils.
April 3, 2015
Now, I've never been much of a fossil/dinosaur lover. Ill admit it. But i did enjoy digging for treasure at times and that's basically the same thing. This book really emphasized and let you use your imagination. I love when kids are able to stop and imagine all the possibilities of a story line and then see them get excited to see which comes alive. I think that is what makes reading so much fun! This would be my text to self connection, the imagination is key in this book and its one of my golden rules to learning. Next this book has a text to text connection with a Bernstein bear book i found in my basement. I knew there was one somewhere and i found it. It was called dinosaurs dig! Bernstein bear books were my and my siblings favorites when growing up. This book (one out of 100 of the series) dealt with fossils and digging for dinosaurs just like this book Fossil. Lastly this book has a text to world connection with all of the people who are archeologist and are helping our museums grow. Thanks to their interest in finding these missing pieces (literally) we are able to enjoy and IMAGINE what it was like way back when!
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April 3, 2015Fossil by Bill Thomson: In this wordless book, a boy goes on a hike with his dog. While on the hike, he trips over a fossil and it comes to life. The fossil was of a plant. Later on his hike, he finds two more fossils and breaks them, causing them to come to live. These two fossils were pteranodon and a dragonfly. His mission is now to get life back to normal.
Text to text: Chalk by Bill Thomson, This book is similar to Chalk by the same author. In the story Chalk, the children start to draw things with chalk and they come to life. They reach a problem when there is a dinosaur and they have to figure out how to get rid of it. These stories are both very creative and deal with imagination then going back to reality.
Text to self: This book relates to my life in a different kind of way. When we I get stressed out, I start to worry and get overwhelmed. I lose a sense of reality and have to find a way to get back to reality and calm down.
Text to world: Jumanji- This book could be similar the movie Jumanji. When the kids play the board game that they find called Jumanji, it comes to life and they have to complete the game in order to get back to reality.
Text to text: Chalk by Bill Thomson, This book is similar to Chalk by the same author. In the story Chalk, the children start to draw things with chalk and they come to life. They reach a problem when there is a dinosaur and they have to figure out how to get rid of it. These stories are both very creative and deal with imagination then going back to reality.
Text to self: This book relates to my life in a different kind of way. When we I get stressed out, I start to worry and get overwhelmed. I lose a sense of reality and have to find a way to get back to reality and calm down.
Text to world: Jumanji- This book could be similar the movie Jumanji. When the kids play the board game that they find called Jumanji, it comes to life and they have to complete the game in order to get back to reality.
March 5, 2018
Copyright-2013
Number of Pages-40
Book Format-Hardcover
Reading Level-Age level: N/A; GR: N/A
Genre- fiction, picture book
Lit Requirement- Wordless book 2
Summary- The book begins with a boy walking with his dog. He finds, what looks to be, a rock and is so mesmerized by it that he trips over a stick. The rock goes flying out of his hand and breaks open. His dog digs and finds another rock that he breaks open and he finds a fossil inside that comes to life and leads him to another rock. He breaks open the next rock and finds, yet, another fossil. That fossil turns into a dinosaur. His dog hops on the dinosaur's back and the boy is chasing them. While running, he steps on more rocks and they break open to display more fossils. He breaks the fossil of the dinosaur and the dinosaur disappears into thin air, which makes his dog fall into the water. It ends by the two of them meeting on the shore.
Response- This book is a fun way to show children fossils. Although, if teachers bring in real fossils, they won't come to life like they did in the book. I think children will love to use their imagination while reading this book.
Number of Pages-40
Book Format-Hardcover
Reading Level-Age level: N/A; GR: N/A
Genre- fiction, picture book
Lit Requirement- Wordless book 2
Summary- The book begins with a boy walking with his dog. He finds, what looks to be, a rock and is so mesmerized by it that he trips over a stick. The rock goes flying out of his hand and breaks open. His dog digs and finds another rock that he breaks open and he finds a fossil inside that comes to life and leads him to another rock. He breaks open the next rock and finds, yet, another fossil. That fossil turns into a dinosaur. His dog hops on the dinosaur's back and the boy is chasing them. While running, he steps on more rocks and they break open to display more fossils. He breaks the fossil of the dinosaur and the dinosaur disappears into thin air, which makes his dog fall into the water. It ends by the two of them meeting on the shore.
Response- This book is a fun way to show children fossils. Although, if teachers bring in real fossils, they won't come to life like they did in the book. I think children will love to use their imagination while reading this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2014
Thomson, B. (2013). Fossil. Las Vegas: Amazon Publishing.
Wordless Book
2013 Parents' Choice Award
This wordless book has the most amazing artwork I have ever seen! On the copyright page there is a note stating the author painted each illustration by hand and that none of the illustrations are photographs or computer generated images. The illustrations helped to tell an engaging story without words. The story is about a young boy and his dog who are exploring the beach on the edge of a lake. The boy discovers 3 rocks with fossils of a plant, an insect, and a prehistoric flying creature. As he studies the fossils, each one mysteriously appears. He discovers that if he breaks the fossils they disappear. So when his dog is being taken away by the flying creature, he breaks the fossil and his dog is saved! This would be a really cool book to share with students during an elementary Science lesson about fossils. I wasn't sure I would really care for a wordless book, but after "reading" it I changed my mind!
Wordless Book
2013 Parents' Choice Award
This wordless book has the most amazing artwork I have ever seen! On the copyright page there is a note stating the author painted each illustration by hand and that none of the illustrations are photographs or computer generated images. The illustrations helped to tell an engaging story without words. The story is about a young boy and his dog who are exploring the beach on the edge of a lake. The boy discovers 3 rocks with fossils of a plant, an insect, and a prehistoric flying creature. As he studies the fossils, each one mysteriously appears. He discovers that if he breaks the fossils they disappear. So when his dog is being taken away by the flying creature, he breaks the fossil and his dog is saved! This would be a really cool book to share with students during an elementary Science lesson about fossils. I wasn't sure I would really care for a wordless book, but after "reading" it I changed my mind!
November 26, 2017
The earliest forms of language used pictures to communicate. Today, we have a book like fossil, that reveals the power of pictures and whisks us to the past. A boy and his dog have a unique encounter when they discover a plant fossil along the shore. The boy trips and during the fall breaks the fossil bringing to life the ancient contents. The boy and his dog collect more fossils to see what they reveal but some of them are not safe. Can the boy rescue his dog and restore order?
Bill Thomson illustrated the book in traditional paints with careful framing and double page spreads. The life like art beautifully reveals the boys excitement and mystery. It is amazing how art has progressed to show such depth and beauty and a reminder that pictures can still tell the story.
This is a great book to share with your children and explore the story of picture. It is amazing the amount of story that can be revealed and talked about in this book. It is a look at the past that tells us about the beauty of art today.
Bill Thomson illustrated the book in traditional paints with careful framing and double page spreads. The life like art beautifully reveals the boys excitement and mystery. It is amazing how art has progressed to show such depth and beauty and a reminder that pictures can still tell the story.
This is a great book to share with your children and explore the story of picture. It is amazing the amount of story that can be revealed and talked about in this book. It is a look at the past that tells us about the beauty of art today.
December 17, 2013
So so so so good! Wow! A boy and his dog are taking a walk when they discover some pretty cool stones. When one of the stones breaks open to reveal a fossil from a prehistoric plant the boy gathers as many stones as he can find and begins breaking them apart. What he finds is that each fossil carries with it a little magic too.
Love the details in this book. Acrylic paint and colored pencil illustrations are incredible photo realistic. I liked all the pages in which readers watch the boy's thoughts practically jump off the page as they move from panel to panel. The dog is another favorite of mine; the fur and the expressions are so spot on I swear I had to resist the urge to pet the pages!
I could go on and on about how great this book is, but I'll end with saying this a is a must read for PreK-2 and a great gift book for this time of year.
Love the details in this book. Acrylic paint and colored pencil illustrations are incredible photo realistic. I liked all the pages in which readers watch the boy's thoughts practically jump off the page as they move from panel to panel. The dog is another favorite of mine; the fur and the expressions are so spot on I swear I had to resist the urge to pet the pages!
I could go on and on about how great this book is, but I'll end with saying this a is a must read for PreK-2 and a great gift book for this time of year.
February 6, 2014
Thomson's acrylic paint and colored pencil illustrations are so realistic, one could almost expect the boy and dog to walk off the pages of the book! These are hand painted illustrations, with no computer graphics. This is also another excellent wordless book, joining others from this year, such as , , , , and others.
Want to read
February 25, 2018Wordless Book
Genre: This is a fantasy, fiction book. I know this because there are dinosaurs and huge bugs in today's world.
Audience: This is intended for primary readers.
Connections:
Text to Self: I relate to this text because when I was a little kid I would look for fossils by the river with my brothers, just as the boy in this book did.
Text to Text: This book reminds me of the book How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? Both of these books imagine what it would be like to have dinosaurs around today.
Tex to World: This book makes me wonder if paleontologists use there imagination like the boy did in this book. He imagined dinosaurs on his beach. It would be very cool to get a paleontologist's thought on this book.
Genre: This is a fantasy, fiction book. I know this because there are dinosaurs and huge bugs in today's world.
Audience: This is intended for primary readers.
Connections:
Text to Self: I relate to this text because when I was a little kid I would look for fossils by the river with my brothers, just as the boy in this book did.
Text to Text: This book reminds me of the book How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? Both of these books imagine what it would be like to have dinosaurs around today.
Tex to World: This book makes me wonder if paleontologists use there imagination like the boy did in this book. He imagined dinosaurs on his beach. It would be very cool to get a paleontologist's thought on this book.
September 28, 2018
In this wordless book a boy is taking his dog on a walk. They are walking on the beach when they find something. It’s a rock. The boy then trips over a piece of drift wood and the rock flies out of his hand and his another rock splitting in half. The rock appears to be a fossil. His dog finds another rock. The boy splits that one open and there is a fossil inside. Suddenly the fossils come to life and unusual things happen.
I really enjoyed this book. The illustrator used panels to move the story along and redirect the eye. The illustrations are vivid and the story is clear despite it being wordless picture book.
I really enjoyed this book. The illustrator used panels to move the story along and redirect the eye. The illustrations are vivid and the story is clear despite it being wordless picture book.
November 27, 2013
UNbelievably amazing photorealistic art but... we smash the fossils in the end? And the pterodactyl has leathery skin? And we split rocks open to find fossils?
And I know I am just a paleo-fuddy-duddy, but "A fossil can be a rock with a preserved part of an extinct animal..." No. A fossil is a rock. No part of the animal is preserved - the place where the animal part previously was has been replaced with mineral material.
And I know I am just a paleo-fuddy-duddy, but "A fossil can be a rock with a preserved part of an extinct animal..." No. A fossil is a rock. No part of the animal is preserved - the place where the animal part previously was has been replaced with mineral material.
December 14, 2013
Fossil by Bill Thomson � Fantasy � ALL AGES � I was so excited to get this book delivery- Just loved reading Chalk, Bill Thomson’s first book. What a living book this is, perfect for an initial discussion on curiosity and creativity. Bill Thomson’s pictures are absolutely gorgeous. I’d pair this book with David Weisner’s Flotsam and Zoom by Istvan Banyai. I love wordless picture books, never tire of sharing them with children.
December 28, 2013
Gorgeous illustrations highlight this wordless picture book about a boy who stumbles upon a fossil. As he interacts with the fossils, they come to life. The dragonfly is amazing and not a problem, but when the pterodactyl comes to life, the boy knows he must put a stop to things.
A great trigger for the students' imagination. Another good book for inferring and predicting. Maybe a good writing prompt for older kids.
A great trigger for the students' imagination. Another good book for inferring and predicting. Maybe a good writing prompt for older kids.
July 29, 2016
This is a GREAT wordless picture book about fossils. A little boy and his beautiful spaniel are walking on the beach when the boy finds a rock. He trips and the rock splits open to reveal a fossil, which comes to life. Soon he is breaking ope rocks left and right to bring back all kinds of things and creatures, but it gets out of hand. I liked the fantasy element mixed in with the nature-science.
July 19, 2014
This is another wordless picture book from Bill Thomson. It is very similar to his previous work, CHALK. His illustrations are hand-painted and are so detailed and hyper-realistic; you can spend a long time just studying them. The story focuses on the imagination and fantasy of a boy who discovers fossils, which come to life. I love the relationship between the boy and his dog, and the dog's expressions are priceless. This is a wonderful, fantastical story.
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September 24, 2014
FOSSIL
is an absolutely STUNNING wordless picture book created by this exceptionally talented author/illustrator, Bill Thomson. This is the second in a trilogy, the first book being Chalk. The story, so masterfully told through pictures, is compelling and the illustrations are rendered in such detail, you turn each page locked in a state of awe.
I cannot recommend these books highly enough!
I cannot recommend these books highly enough!
June 13, 2015
The hyperrealism along with often-jarring perspective makes this very engaging. And no words are needed - the illustrations do just fine delivering the narrative. I think students who like dinosaurs will be enthralled, but to me the pterodactyl seemed more like a cartoon, so the end of the book didn't hold together for me, nor did breaking the spell. Still fun because Thomson gets so much right with his illustrations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2013
My favorite part of this beautifully illustrated book about a boy discovering a surprise inside several fossils along the beach is the dog. I love his expressions of joy while riding on the pteranodon's back - even his trip down to the water looked like fun. Thompson's paintings feel so real and lively, you just want to reach out and touch them.
November 8, 2013
Absolutely amazing! Without a word, Bill Thomson brings to life the subject of fossils in intriguing form. With each turned page, you wonder how Bill is going to solve the problem of fossils coming to life. As with Chalk, he clearly communicates the inquisitive nature of children through the storytelling of his illustrations. I am a fan and I know my students will be too!
November 25, 2013
This book is amazing! I loved Bill Thomson's first book Chalk and was not disappointed with this one! The art is fantastic and it is hard to believe that the illustrations area all done by hand with acrylic paint and colored pencils. This wordless story is superbly crafted. Can't wait to share this one with students.
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