Kid Konnection: Fossil & Giveaway

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. This week, I'm going to share with you a beautiful picture book that will stimulate your child's imagination.

Summary: 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. -- Two Lions

When my children were young, we had a few picture books that didn't have words. At first, I wasn't sure if my kids would like this type of book since we enjoyed "reading" together; however, I soon learned that paging through these books could be even more fun because my children could tell me their own story.

I recently discovered a new picture book called FOSSIL by Bill Thomson which allows kids to do just that -- tell their own story through gorgeously illustrated pictures. FOSSIL begins with a young boy and his dog heading out for a hike. The boy discovers an intriguing rock, but when he trips, the rock breaks in half. Much to his amazement, he's discovered a fossil of a fern.

He finds more rocks and purposely breaks them to see what's inside. He finds two more fossils, one of a dragonfly and one of a pteranodon; and the creatures come to life! When the pteranodon grabs the boy's dog and flies away, the boy must figure out a way to save his best friend!

I thought FOSSIL was a delightful book. I enjoyed the story where the past comes to life through the fossils; however, it was the beautiful illustrations that really made this book special to me. Mr. Thomson's previous book CHALK has already been honored with awards, and I suspect that FOSSIL might win a few too.

Each page of this picture book jumps to life with the exquisite details. Mr. Thomson paints each illustration by hand, using acrylic paint and colored pencils. You can get an idea of just how amazing these pictures are in the book trailer below:



FOSSIL is guaranteed to entertain and capture the imaginations of the children in your life. Recommended for children ages three to seven years old.

Check out the rest of the FOSSIL tour stops:

Mon, Nov 11 NC Teacher Stuff
Tues, Nov 12 Just a Little Creativity
Wed, Nov 13 There's a Book
Thurs, Nov 14 Sharpread
Fri, Nov 15 Kid Lit Frenzy
Mon, Nov 18 Once Upon a Story
Tues, Nov 19 The Children's Book Review
Wed, Nov 20 5 Minutes for Books
Thurs, Nov 21 Geo Librarian
Fri, Nov 22 Growing with Science

Giveaway alert: Two Lions/Amazon is pleased to offer a giveaway copy of FOSSIL to one winner (U.S. addresses). To enter, must fill out the form below before November 22nd at 11:59 p.m. ET. I will randomly select and notify the winner the following day. Good luck!
Thanks to Blue Slip Media for providing a review copy of this book.

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!