Charlotte's lovely Grampy 'Dodo' bought her this book and though it's technically a bit too 'old' for her, it's a fascinating glimpse at the pioneers of palaeontology, and the first discoveries of fossil remains showing the evolution of dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs are infinitely fascinating to kids young and old. The thought that the earth shook once with these massive rampaging beasts running around everywhere is a subject that triggers the imagination in a way very few other subjects can match.
This book comes in a faux 'crate' that looks like a rampaging velociraptor might burst out of it at any moment. Packed to the gills with photos, illustrations and some fascinating hand-written correspondence, it's a seriously weighty reference tome that kids can refer to again and again.
Though it's a fairly 'Americanised' view of the discovery of prehistoric life, it's still utterly fascinating and absorbing (though definitely not cheap! Amazon currently have it listed for £25.50, which is a fiver below the RRP).
Charlotte's best bit: Digging out all the letters between eminent historians, geologists and palaeontologists (and not putting them back in the right places!)
Daddy's favourite bit: Fascinating scribbles from field journals and a brilliant piece of research on a whole new era of enlightenment for scientists the world over.