Dinosaur Desert

Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska is another name to conjure with, another woman whose extraordinary story needs to be uncovered and celebrated as certainly not known in this country.

Zofia grew up under Nazi-occupied Poland, was forced to study in secret and worked actively in the resistance. Through a chance encounter, she became fascinated by prehistory and through sheer force of effort led expeditions to difficult and remote places in Mongolia and the Gobi Desert discovering extraordinary fossil remains and much information about mammals and the natural life of the regions. Her teams were always international and faced many hardships, including the logistical complexities of arranging the transportation of their findings.

The illustrator uses a clear direct graphic style, including some newspaper-style pages, to tell the story of Zofia’s early life and the hardships of life under the Nazis. This changes to a freer more exuberant style as she illustrates the worlds that Zofia explored, creating imaginary images of the extinct and living creatures that she discovers. This is a book full of detailed information – of people, places, expeditions, the natural and prehistoric worlds – all presented in a fun and accessible way. It will be interesting to dinosaur lovers as well as lovers of historical information, and to any readers who enjoy a good story.