Maisie Mammoth's Memoirs: A Guide to Ice Age Celebs
Illustrated by Rob Hodgson
Ice Age expert Professor Mike Benton
Expected publication: May 12, 2020
Maisie Mammoth's Memoirs is an incredibly captivating way to learn about the ice age.
Mom's Review
Narrated by a mammoth, Maisie Mammoth's Memoirs is a guide to various ice age animals, from the titular mammoth to the saber-toothed salmon to the giant sloth. Animals that we've never heard of (bear-sized beavers) or only seen once before in another book (titanoboa) appear along side ones more commonly known, like the dire wolf. Each species is represented by an imagined celebrity animal, like "Jackson" the saber-toothed salmon, who was "the hero of his school when he figured out how to swim upstream." The whimsical recollections of Maisie are full of facts about each creature, including feeding habits, cause of extinction, and interesting traits. Memoirs is a flat-out fun approach to prehistoric history that T didn't want me to put down.
T and I had a blast visiting the La Brea Tar Pits in February with my mom. We saw hundreds of dire wolf skulls, measured our size against a mammoth, and learned about the variety of ice age animals. Fast forward to this week, and we couldn't believe that the Tar Pits are given a two-page spread in Maisie Mammoth's Memoirs. T loved recalling our trip and comparing it with the illustration! (And he drew a ton of creatures that were going extinct due to overhunting today.) I'd say that the book left quite an impression on him of its own accord and doubled down on the impact our excursion had. If you visit the tar pits, you really ought to read this in conjunction with your trip!
Son's Review
(Age: 5)
Mom: Who is Maisie? What does she do?
Son: Wooly mammoth – narrates the story. She's not real. It's like she talks, and it's like she gives a guide of the Ice Age animals and humans.
Mom: Did you have a favorite animal?
Son: Maisie and the ground squirrels. They were so cute!
Mom: What was the coolest thing you learned? I couldn't believe there were saber-toothed salmon!
Son: Yeah! And they were bigger than [Daddy] or Grandpa!
Mom: What is the best part of the book? I though the bear-sized beavers were the best part.
Son: I thought the big bear, monster-type creature, that steals the food. The scavenger was my favorite creature. [The short faced bear.]
Further Reading: We've only ever heard of titanoboa in one other book, In the Past. https://glassofwineglassofmilk.blogspot.com/2018/05/in-past.html
Illustrated by Rob Hodgson
Ice Age expert Professor Mike Benton
Expected publication: May 12, 2020
Maisie Mammoth's Memoirs is an incredibly captivating way to learn about the ice age.
Mom's Review
Narrated by a mammoth, Maisie Mammoth's Memoirs is a guide to various ice age animals, from the titular mammoth to the saber-toothed salmon to the giant sloth. Animals that we've never heard of (bear-sized beavers) or only seen once before in another book (titanoboa) appear along side ones more commonly known, like the dire wolf. Each species is represented by an imagined celebrity animal, like "Jackson" the saber-toothed salmon, who was "the hero of his school when he figured out how to swim upstream." The whimsical recollections of Maisie are full of facts about each creature, including feeding habits, cause of extinction, and interesting traits. Memoirs is a flat-out fun approach to prehistoric history that T didn't want me to put down.
T and I had a blast visiting the La Brea Tar Pits in February with my mom. We saw hundreds of dire wolf skulls, measured our size against a mammoth, and learned about the variety of ice age animals. Fast forward to this week, and we couldn't believe that the Tar Pits are given a two-page spread in Maisie Mammoth's Memoirs. T loved recalling our trip and comparing it with the illustration! (And he drew a ton of creatures that were going extinct due to overhunting today.) I'd say that the book left quite an impression on him of its own accord and doubled down on the impact our excursion had. If you visit the tar pits, you really ought to read this in conjunction with your trip!
Son's Review
(Age: 5)
Mom: Who is Maisie? What does she do?
Son: Wooly mammoth – narrates the story. She's not real. It's like she talks, and it's like she gives a guide of the Ice Age animals and humans.
Mom: Did you have a favorite animal?
Son: Maisie and the ground squirrels. They were so cute!
Mom: What was the coolest thing you learned? I couldn't believe there were saber-toothed salmon!
Son: Yeah! And they were bigger than [Daddy] or Grandpa!
Mom: What is the best part of the book? I though the bear-sized beavers were the best part.
Son: I thought the big bear, monster-type creature, that steals the food. The scavenger was my favorite creature. [The short faced bear.]
Further Reading: We've only ever heard of titanoboa in one other book, In the Past. https://glassofwineglassofmilk.blogspot.com/2018/05/in-past.html
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