Sue Hendrickson Discovers Her T. Rex

written by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by Diana Sudyka; Abrams, 2019.

Sue Hendrickson’s curiosity as a child fed her penchant for finding things; her love of learning led her to books and discovery; and her shyness, instead of being a limitation, has served Sue well throughout her life. In this affirming picture book biography, the young reader learns about science, exploration, archeology, paleontology, discovery, and T. rex while gaining insight into human nature—and the wisdom and joy in following your own path.

From the flyleaves depicting a collection of found things and the tools Sue used in her work, to the title page that gives clues to Sue’s monumental discovery, to the well-crafted text and bright illustrations, this biography draws children in and celebrates a self-educated woman who “wasn’t like other kids. So shy and smart, Sue gobbled up books…learned things all on her own…dialed her curiosity up to HIGH and discovered everything about anything that interested her.”

Follow Sue as she grows into a self-confident, successful finder of things, including “the world’s largest, most complete, best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex fossil discovered to date” which, fittingly, is triumphantly illustrated across the final spread of the book. 

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“Never lose your curiosity …it can take you to places you never thought possible!” – Sue Hendrickson

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Illustration © Diana Sudyka

Why This Book? Why will this book matter to kids?

There is no doubt that When Sue Found Sue will delight dinosaur-lovers, but it is so much more than that—here is a perfect picture book for opening a discussion about how personal interests and an inquisitive nature can lead to all sorts of discoveries, not the least of which is who we are at the heart.

When Sue Found Sue is suitable as a primary grade read-aloud. Children will witness the positive traits in Sue Hendrickson’s personality that led to her myriad interests and ultimately to her amazing discovery. Buzzeo weaves Sue’s quiet nature throughout the telling, reinforcing subtly but dramatically that one can be curious, persistent, confident, smart and successful in personal pursuits even if not particularly extroverted or gregarious. Children will observe focus and a spirit of adventure in Sue’s actions from childhood through adulthood. Those who are treated to the back matter will also learn about science and the sometimes less attractive aspects associated with dramatic discovery. See below (And Then There’s This…) for ideas on how to use the back matter with older children.

Grade level: 1-3

Social-Emotional Learning Themes

curiosity, confidence, shyness, persistence, personal pursuit of interests, adventure, focus

Content Area Connections

Science; women in science; dinosaurs; discovery; archeology, paleontology, museums, biography; reading to learn.

Using This Book in the Classroom

Hit the Ground Running

Ready Resources for Educators, Homeschoolers, and Parents

As a former educator/school librarian, Toni states, “I am passionate about curriculum and for many years I wrote teaching guides for children’s books. I have, therefore, loved writing teaching guides for each of my own books. When Sue Found Sue is no exception.”

Toni’s teaching guide serves to reinforce the following skills: Observation, Description, Compare and contrast, and Size and scale; and focuses on these themes: Careers, Dinosaurs, Paleontology, Discovery, and Women Scientists.

Write Away!

Ideas to prompt writing

Read the following picture book biographies of other discoverers of dinosaurs. Compare and contrast their life stories, experiences, and personality traits with those of Sue Hendrickson: 

• Barnum’s Bones: How Barnum Brown Discovered the Most Famous Dinosaur in the World by Tracey Fern, illustrated by Boris Kulikov
• The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Brian Selznick (Caldecott Honor book)

Which was their favorite biography? Why? Give details to support opinion.

Ask older students to compare and contrast the authors’ and/or illustrators’ style and use of detail to inform the reader. 

Compare and contrast the back matter in the books.

Poetry Break 

Related poetry to recite before or following the reading of this book

Poetry breaks fit perfectly into brief moments in the day—from opening or closing the daily morning meeting to lining up for lunch; from zipping up backpacks and jackets to transitioning from one subject to the next. Reading a poem typically takes less than a minute, yet it can introduce or reinforce a concept, celebrate language, exemplify rhythm, enhance vocabulary, expand understanding, summon a giggle, or initiate reflection. And poetry soothes the spirit.

Poetry collections suggested for use with When Sue Found Sue:

• Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Arnold Lobel
• Dinothesaurus by Douglas Florian

And Then There’s This…

Enrichment activities, related books, online resources, craft projects, and ideas for further study

Plan a field trip to a nearby science museum. If you live in the Western New York area, you might also consider a field trip to the Buffalo Zoo for the new OMG Dinosaurs! exhibit, featuring eleven life-sized animatronic dinosaurs.

I am a fan of back matter in informational books, especially picture books. It is here that authors have the opportunity to give us further insight into the compelling research they gathered to shape their story. In a picture book so much has to be trimmed for the sake of the distilled format. Toni, a former librarian, is a master at providing brief notes for those interested in glimpsing deeper into the story. She hopes we’ll get interested and set off to learn more!

Delve into this book’s back matter. Research the other areas of interest in Sue Hendrickson’s life of scientific discovery: underwater archaeological excavation diving, marine archaeology, dinosaur hunting, field paleontology, and amber fossil study.

Form teams to learn more about the disputes among those who felt they owned Sue the T. rex after she was discovered. Have students debate the issue.

Additional Books of Interest

• Titanosaur: Discovering the World’s Largest Dinosaur by José Luis Carballido and Dr. Diego Pol, illustrated by Florencia Gigena
• What If I Had T. rex Teeth!? And Other Dinosaur Parts by Sandra Markle, illustrated by Howard McWilliam

Books about being shy or quiet:

• Miss Hazeltine’s Home for Shy and Fearful Cats by Alicia Potter, illustrated by Birgitta Sif
• Quiet by Tomie dePaola
• Shy by Deborah Freedman

Books that Affirm Following Your Own Path:

• The Girl Who Buried Her Dreams in a Can: A True Story by Dr. Tererai Trent, illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist
• The World Is Waiting for You by Barbara Kerley
• A Book About Friendship, with a Dinosaur Theme:
• How Do Dinosaurs Stay Friends? by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague

  

 

About the Author

New York Times bestselling children’s author Toni Buzzeo has published 27 picture books for kids as well as 11 books for teachers and librarians. Toni and her books have won many awards, including a 2013 Caldecott Honor for One Cool Friend, illustrated by David Small. She writes for a broad audience, from the very youngest readers through elementary-aged children. Her characters are sometimes real and sometimes fictional, sometimes human and sometimes animals whose experiences echo those of a human child. No matter what, her characters are as loveable as the children Toni writes for. Before publishing for children, Toni was a Maine elementary school librarian and college and high school writing teacher. Now she lives and writes full time from her charming writing cottage in Arlington, Massachusetts. For more information, visit Toni’s website or connect with her on twitter @ToniBuzzeo.

Q&A with Toni Buzzeo

 Toni graciously responded to a few questions about When Sue Met Sue and her creative process.

 Judy Bradbury: How did you come to write this book? What kernel seeded its creation?

 

Toni Buzzeo: I so much loved creating my first picture book biography, A Passion for Elephants: The Real Life Adventure of Field Scientist Cynthia Moss (Dial, 2015). As a certified librarian, I love the research process, the digging for the essential facts, the organizing of material, the finding of a thread that weaves throughout and ties everything together. With that experience, I knew that I’d found a niche in children’s publishing that I wanted to continue to occupy. But who did I want to write about next? That was a challenge that required a mind-pool. I turned to my fellow school librarians for suggestions, and Sue Hendrickson’s name came up. I’d seen Sue the T. rex at the Field Museum (and the replica at O’Hare Airport) and been intrigued to learn that it was a self-made woman scientist who’d discovered her. Here was my chance to learn so much more!

 

 JB: Tell about one hurdle you experienced in the creation of When Sue Found Sue or provide a memorable (or humorous!) anecdote related to the making of this book.

TB: The greatest hurdle for me was in narrowing the text to focus most of its light on Sue Hendrickson’s discovery of her dinosaur. My original manuscript was much more wide-ranging, because Sue really is such a finder (Finder! was actually the working title of the manuscript). As I explain in the Author’s Note, Sue “has been a professional diver since 1971, a specialist in paleontology fieldwork (especially dinosaurs), a specialist in fossil inclusions in amber from mines in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, and a long-standing member of the Franck Goddio marine archaeology.” There was so much to tell about this fascinating woman, but my editor, Tamar Brazis, rightly asked me to focus more closely on the discovery for which Sue is most famous—Sue the T. rex.

 

 

 

Illustration © Diana Sudyka

JB: You describe Sue as shy. You tell readers Sue “dialed her curiosity up to HIGH,” leading her to “find things.” How do you think these qualities aided Sue in her work as a scientist?

TB: Not surprisingly, I was attracted to Sue, in part, because I, too, was an exceptionally shy child. For me, the shyness led me to books and to writing, both solitary activities. For Sue, I think the shyness not only led her to books as well, but it played well with her curiosity, sending her out the door on solitary missions to look for the many things available for finding in the world around her home. This was possible because she didn’t have the distractions of games or sports or other creative group activities that occupy many less-shy children.

 

Illustration © Diana Sudyka

JB: What did you learn from creating this book?

TB: Most importantly, I learned so much about this amazing woman who has made so many contributions, big (Sue the T. rex) and small (butterflies in amber) to our knowledge of our world. But I also learned, once again, the importance of listening to the voice within. 

During the last weeks
of her fourth summer of digging for duckbills in the blistering heat,
Sue Hendrickson felt pulled
to a sandstone cliff
far off in the distance.
She couldn’t say why then—
and she can’t say why even now—
but she was called to that cliff.
And on August 12, 1990,
when her team headed into town
to fix a flat tire,
Sue finally followed her curiosity. 

Had Sue Hendrickson not listened to that voice within, not listened to the curiosity that arose from its insistent call, we may not have Sue the T. rex!

JB: What would surprise readers to learn about you or about the creation of this book?

TB: I think most readers would be surprised to learn that I am not a dinosaur fanatic. My son was—for a time—when he was young. So were many of my second graders every year when we studied dinosaurs, and I guided them in their first formal research project in the library. So, I know a good bit about dinosaurs, and I think they are very cool. But they aren’t my passion. In the end, I didn’t write about Sue Hendrickson because of the dinosaurs. I wrote about her because she is a strong, self-directed woman who has shaped her life around her personal skills and knowledge and intuition. I wrote about her because she inspires me.

JB: What do you hope readers will take away from your book?

TB: My fondest wish is that readers are inspired by the book. Inspiration, of course, is something we all need and ought to pursue, but I feel strongly that it is our responsibility—as authors and illustrators, as educators, as parents and grandparents—to provide children with opportunities to be inspired.
So just how might When Sue Found Sue inspire children? First, I hope that after reading the book, girls will see science as a clear and strong career choice option. Our attitudes about women in science have changed, particularly in the past two decades, and I want to support that change. Second, I hope that all children, both boys and girls, are inspired to follow their inborn strengths. From a very early age, Sue Hendrickson was drawn to seek and find things. She has a special skill in that area, one that showed itself in her childhood and one which she nurtured in a natural way when she was young, by searching for treasures every day.  

 

 

Illustration © Diana Sudyka

JB: What is one question you wish I had asked, and what is your answer?

TB: Would you and Sue have been friends as children?
Answer: Sue was born in Chicago in December 1950 and I was born near Detroit in October 1951, really not so far apart geographically, and we definitely would have been in the same year in school had we grown up next door to each other. I can’t help but think that we would have been friends, both of us shy children with a deep love of reading. I think we’d have walked to the library together every day and she may have taught me to pay attention and notice things. I’ve lived so much in my mind (spinning stories) that I don’t share her careful attention to what is around her. I’d love to have learned that from Sue.

About the Illustrator

Diana Sudyka (pronounced soo-dee-kah) has illustrated several children’s books. Working mainly in gouache, ink and watercolor, she states that her paintings are “largely informed by a deep passion for the natural world, and inspired by a love of various folk art traditions.” Learn more at Diana’s website.

Book Giveaway!

Subscribers who leave a comment will be entered in a drawing to win a copy of When Sue Found Sue. A winner will be chosen randomly and announced when the next review is posted. 

And…the winner of a signed copy of Squirrel in the Museum by Vivian Vande Velde is jeannekomo! Congratulations!