Product Description
Until the late nineteenth century, it was widely believed that an ancient Viking colony had survived on the unexplored and ice-locked coast of southeast Greenland. The Danish discovery of the isolated Inuit culture of the Ammassalick Fiord in 1884 did not fully dispel the myth.

Now jump to present-day Greenland: four teenaged scientists, winners of United Nations scholarships, are excited to spend their summer counting reindeer for the celebrated Professor Dansgaard at his Artic wildlife research station. But when they discover some mysterious bones in Dansgaard's lab, they suddenly find themselves on an expedition to the mysterious Valley of the Runes. Battling screaming ice, marooned Vikings, a sorcerer named Halldor, an Arctic hurricane, and a collapsing cave, the adventurers must learn the deep meaning of friendship and nonviolence if they are to survive. Mike Davis's tale of teenage teamwork and discovery is filled with scientific wonder, coming-of-age intrigue, and potent lessons on the fruits of collaboration and friendship. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Jack Davis
land of the lost mammoths is a brilliant read for kids and adults 12 years and up. I am [...] and it is my favourite book.

"Lost" and found
"Science adventure" sounds like an oxymoron. But Mike Davis strays from urban theory here: a young adult science adventure with a few hints of sci-fi. "Land of the Lost Mammoths" is that rarest kind of kid book -- educational and fun, not to mention as intriguing to adults as to their honor student kid.

Four young students win special U.N. scholarships, thanks to their brilliance in biology, engineering, linguistics and ecosystems. They're going to Greenland, to study under celebrated scientist Professor Dansgaard. Jack, his half-brother Conor, Qavigarssuag ("Qav") and Julia soon find that Dansgaard is indeed brilliant, though rather eccentric.

But how eccentric? They find mammoth bones in Dansgaard's office, and learn that he believes that mammoths still exist somewhere nearby. He also believes that the descendents of an ancient Viking colony still live in hiding. The group travels to a legendary valley in a glacier, but things start to go wrong, pitting them against the forces of nature -- and a Viking sorcerer.

Perceval Press is best known for publishing spellbinding poetry, photography, music and other art. Here they take a small detour -- it's sort of a modern Jules Verne book for kids. Davis doesn't let the plot lag for a moment, and he's not afraid to sprinkle in stuff to give you thrills and chills. Is all this science and history boring? Heck no.

The plot is sprinkled with examinations of ecological and political ramifications. For example, Qav brings up the U.S.'s controversial presence in Greenland at one point. Another would be the conflict between the expedition members -- should they bring a gun into a Viking camp? The question of whether they should risk themselves to avoid contaminating an unspoiled culture is a hard one, and not one that Davis chickens out on.

The characters are well-drawn and likable, and Davis successfully makes them seem intelligent and innovative without being annoying. And William Simpson provides delicate, detailed black-and-white illustrations, complete with animal skulls and Celtic knots. It adds to the feeling that the present and past are twined together in this book.

"Land of the Lost Mammoths" is a surprising but very welcome "bedtime story" from Mike Davis, with enough fun and thrills to send readers scrambling for more research books.

A wonderful lost world
What a terrific book! Mike Davis sweeps the reader along with his teenage adventurers Jack, Julia, Conor, and Qav into the icy haunted reaches of Greenland with a flair and a verve that took me back to boyhood days spent under the spell of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" (the inspiration for "Jurassic Park"), Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth, and all the stories by Robert Louis Stevenson and H. G. Wells I could lay my hands on. Jack and his friends are brainy and brave, one or another of them knows all about carbon dating, kayaking, mountaineering, plate tectonics, and "refugia," and needless to say, all of this knowledge turns out to be handy, even life-saving, as they penetrate a weird and enthralling Arctic lost world. Through all their adventures, their loyalty and example of mutual aid are as impressive as their derring-do. For anyone who has ever wondered, as I did, why no one writes like Conan Doyle, Verne, Wells, or Stevenson any more -- Davis, a MacArthur fellow, does just that. This is a book to share with your friends of all ages. Perceval Press has done a beautiful job producing it, and the illustrations by William Simpson are as magical as the prose. He and Davis are a combination to compare with R. L. Stevenson and N. C. Wyeth.

Intoxicating Land of Magic and Mystery
Although deservedly touted as a "Science Adventure," Mike Davis's novel is much more than this.Certainly one of the most unique features of Davis's novel is its ability to stimulate further reading and interest in the geography and history of Greenland and the science and technology of Arctic exploration.However, "Land of the Lost Mammoths" also imagines a land of magic and mystery, of places that cannot be named and of persons that give name to dreams.

As the first in an anticipated series of adventures, Davis's novel is engrossing, imaginative, and magical.His trio of male and female protagonists (Julia, Conor, Jack and Qav) are inspiring not only for their accomplishments, but for their response to the discovery of a lost world.Moreover, Julia and Davis's rejection of traditional "damsel in distress" adventure scenarios in the course of the novel is inspired.Davis has clearly offered a novel that will appeal to the imaginations of readers of all ages.

A Good Read With Your Child
As a mom who enjoys reading to her son at bedtime, I found Mike Davis' Land of the Lost Mammoths: A Science Adventure to be a real treat. The story moves quickly and is compelling, but most of all, it's refreshingly intelligent. So many books for kids today are "dummied-down" as though the authors are afraid to use language that might force a child to use a dictionary! Here, Davisinforms and educates as well as entertains his readers. My son was thoroughly engaged and it raised some interesting discussions as we tried to figure out what would happen next. Also, my son loves science and the characters in this book reinforce the notion that science is a "cool" thing. A great message for a parent to share with theirchild. ... Read more

Product Description
Asks questions about the woolly mammoth, such as why it had tusks; provides answers under flaps; and concludes with a fold-out image of this prehistoric animal. ... Read more

Product Description
Building the new wing at the high school stops when woolly mammoth bones are discovered at the construction site. A pair of "fossil detectives," archaeologists from the university, arrives to supervise the recovery of the bones. By piecing together clues, and the bones, the detectives form and test theories about how this mammoth died. While they follow the arguments and the evidence, young readers dig out mammoth "bones" of their own and assemble a woolly mammoth skeleton! This exciting kit includes 16 fossilized bones embedded in rock material, excavation tools, a tray of "created" fossils, a 40-page book, historical timelines, a pictorial glossary, and a peek-through window on the cover. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Mastodon; Mammoths; Paleontology; Proboscidea (Mammals), Fossil; Mastodons; Proboscidea, Fossil; Proboscidea, Fossill; Mammoth; Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / Dinosaurs ... Read more

Product Description
Though his parents explain there have been no mammoths for over 10,000 years, Will goes out in the snow one day, certain he will meet some. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Cute book for my "Will!"
My son's name is Will, and this is the only book I've been able to find about a kid with his name.The art in this book is great and I love the imagination and spirit of the boy Will!There aren't words on every page so sometimes you have to narrate yourself, but with a 3-year-old that's kind of fun because after a few times through the book, he can narrate it himself.And now he even knows what a wooly rhinoceros is, who knew?

almost wordless book
The story is a bit scary for me. The illustrations are exquisite.

Great Book!
This book is great for not only kids but adults too.It is very creative and there is so much detailed art work done with colored pencils.It's a GREAT BOOK!!!!

Beautifully Illustrated
I love this book so much I bought a second copy so I could frame some ofthe pictures. Stepehn Gammell is a wonderfull artist..

An Illustration is Worth a 1,000 Words!
Will's Mammoth is a wonderful picture book, with a good story line.I have used this book to help children learn the writing process.In the current classroom (2nd grade)we are doing a unit on dinosaurs and I read Will's Mammoth to the children and then showed the illustrations.I had the children look close to the details of the illustrations and then they wrote discriptive sentences about the page of their choice.The students used their imagination to write their sentences and stories. You will be suprised at the outcome of any child's story within the Story of Will's Mammoth. ... Read more

Product Description
Eighty activities unravel the scientific and natural mysteries of insects, oceans, dinosaurs, geology, vertebrates, and ancient cultures. Kids explore firsthand the secrets of earth's history in a "discovery museum" of hands-on natural history experiences. 100 illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Full of Fun Information!
This is another great book by them (check them all out, they're great).This book is great for unit studies either for public school or homeschool (personally we us it for homeschool). We like to do an activity after we get home from the museum to reinforce what we learned.Great book full of fun activities! ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
In the best-selling tradition of The Bones Book and Skeleton and The Tiny Perfect Dinosaur series comes a totally cool new series! Here's a chance for kids to trek back 100,000 years and meet the creatures that thrived when glaciers covered one third of the Earth!Book one in the series introduces the amazing wooly mammoth, a large, hairy, elephant-like beast with two great, long tusks.Just how long were those tusks?Kids can read all about woolly mammoths in the fact-packed paperback, then assemble a paleontologically correct mammoth skeleton of their own.Each book comes with a glacier-shaped plastic stand, so kids can collect and display all their favorite Ice Age animals! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

This book was not what I was expecting...
This is a teeny, tiny book -- only about4 inches by 5 inches and about a 1/4 inch wide.Not at all what I was expecting.I bought it usedthrough Amazon, and was actually more interested in the mammoth skeleton that was supposed to be included with it, butwas not.I amthoroughly disappointed.What a waste of 5 bucks.

A Wonderful Combination
I bought this booklet/mammoth-bones model combination for my daughter in the midst of her dinosaur craze. While mammoths are ice age animals, my daughter was fascinated by reading about a prehistoric animal that was around with humans (Neanderthals). But, she found having a model of the bones in her room to be even more interesting and exciting! The model was easy for us to assemble and is still proudly on display. Now her younger brother enjoys it and the book too.

A Wonderful Combination
I bought this booklet/mammoth-bones model combination for my daughter in the midst of her dinosaur craze. While mammoths are ice age animals, my daughter was fascinated by reading about a prehistoric animal that was around with humans (Neanderthals). But, she found having a model of the bones in her room to be even more interesting and exciting! The model was easy for us to assemble and is still proudly on display. Now her youner brother enjoys it and the book too. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Book of Dinosaurs review
We purchased this book for our three year old son.He loves the pictures in the book.He carries it around with him from morning thru bedtime and when he goes to sleep he takes it to bed and sleeps with it right next tohim.He loves dinosaurs and knows many of the names of them.Thru thisbook he has learned not only more dinosaur names but specific informationabout the dinosaurs in this book.Though some of the text is a littleadvanced for him and there are certain parts my husband and I change whenwe read it, we still read this as his bedtime book at night.My two yearold son is starting to become interested also.I thought my sons wouldnever be interested in reading.They really are now, we just needed tofind the right subject.They are very interested in dinosaurs. ... Read more

Product Description
A comprehensive survey of the scientific information available on the gigantic Ice Age elephant whose remains have been found in Siberia and whose likeness appears in the cave paintings of France explores the mammoth's history and reasons for its disappearance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

thorough coverage of mammoths for young and old
This is a wondeful book on all things mammoth. With both a fact-filled and readable text and a wealth of excellent illustrations, it is a great resource for young and old. Though the main star of the book is the famous woolly mammoth, other mammoths are covered, such as the dwarf mammoths of Wrangel Island, the California Channel Islands, and of Malta and Sicily; the Columbian Mammoth; the Steppe Mammoth; and the ancestral mammoth, Mammuthus meridionalis.

All aspects of mammoths are covered, anything you could ever want to know about them (that is known to scientists I should say). Mammoth evolution is covered, with discussions and illustrations showing the relationship between the various types of mammoths as well as mastodons and elephants. The entire Proboscidean family tree is detailed, tracing back the evolution of the group to trunk-less Moerithierum over 40 million years ago. The history of mammoth discoveries in Siberia is discussed with many great illustrations, showing many of the famous finds such as the Beresovka Mammoth and baby mammoth Dima, both well preserved frozen mammoths. The mammoths (Columbian Mammoths) that were trapped in the infamous La Brea tar pits of modern Los Angeles are reviewed, with an illustration of a typical scene at the tar pits and discussion of paleontology there. All aspects of mammoth natural history are delved into; what they ate, what preyed upon them, how they aged, the nature of their hairy covering, what habitats they favored, along with detailed discussions of mammoth anatomy and physiology, even analysis of mammoth molars and how they chewed and electron microscope images of mammoth blood cells. Mammoths and human culture is well covered, with ample illustrations of cave paintings and carvings of mammoths, early man hunting and eating mammoths, mammoth bone tools, even mammoth bone huts! The final section of the book is devoted to mammoth extinction and the various causes, primarily climatic and human hunting. Also included are a useful glossary, an appendix discussing how what is known about mammoths came to light, several maps detailing mammoth finds around the world, and a bibliography.

Great popular science writing and lavishly illustrated, this all one could ever want on mammoths.

Wonderful book!Excellent information and great pictures!
I have studied Mammoths for a long time now and this book was the best source of information I have seen in a long time.It is soo good I built a web site dedicated to the book and it's authors. Check it out athttp://www.angelfire.com/tn/mamoths/index.html

Excellent, informative, and fun.
This book captivated both me and my 12-year-old. It has a million years of mammoth history. The photos of fossil bones and frozen preserved mammoths are excellent. I had not realized mammoth fossils were so common, and that they existed throughout the U.S. If all you know about are the frozen wooly mammoths of Siberia, then you must read this book to get the whole story. The book clearly covers the different types of mammoths, including the dwarf mammoths that survived until only 4000 years ago! Now I want to know where I can find info on what's been learned since this book was published in 1994. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Simple?
I didn't find it all that simple for my kids to read. Some expressions are definitely English. I don't appreciate the comic style much, but I do like the large print at the bottom of each page. Guess there's something forboth sides of that issue! Typical Usborne illustrations. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Humongous gentle
The kids (3 & 5yo) love Oscar and Arabella. its a great story that opens up kids mind with many questions about ice age and bring a discussion about our evolution. Above all, fun fun fun story. highly recommended.

It's got an Arabella!!
My daughter loved this book, but....As any parent who's chosen a seldom-heard name for their baby knows, it's a thrill for kids with unusual names to see them in settings where they're used to only seeing OTHER people's names...And whether my little Arabella loved this one for that reason or just because it's a darned good book, I can't say, but she sure loved it a lot!

Arabella! Arabella! Arabella!
Upon seeing this book again, our daughter shouted "Arabella! Arabella! Arabella!" in the public library, much to our chagrin.

The story is cute and the pictures are whimsical.There are enough details in the illustrations for our two and a half year old to make running commentaries - "Oscar has a stomachache".

It is a keeper. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

just as good as the others in this series
My grade 4 daughter loved this book, as she has with many others in this series.It is funny, informative and kept her reading.

I don't know why people judge books by their expectations (e.g., it wasn't good for my grade 1 students, so I'll give it only 3 stars) and not on its own merits. Book is not meant to be read by grade 1s. It's much better for grades 3 - 5.

Prehistoric History
I enjoyed the way the book presented ideas about the Ice Age and its inhabitants in a cartoon format. However, I was looking for a book that was appropraite for 1stgraders to read independently this would be a little above them. I think 2nd and 3rd graders would enjoy this book and be able to understand the humor. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
A dazzling visual record of one of Earth's most extraordinary species, this updated and revised edition of Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age integrates exciting new research to piece together the story of mammoths, mastodons, and their relatives, icons of the Ice Age. Incorporating recent genetic work, new fossil finds, new extinction theories, and more, Mammoths is a captivating exploration of how these mighty creatures evolved, lived, and mysteriously disappeared. The book features a wealth of color illustrations that depict mammoths in their dramatic Ice Age habitats, scores of photographs of mammoth remains, and images of the art of prehistoric people who saw these animals in the flesh. Full of intriguing facts, boxed features, and clear graphics, Mammoths examines the findings--including intact frozen carcasses from Siberia and fossilized remains from South Dakota, California, England, France, and elsewhere--that have provided clues to the mammoths' geographic range, body structure, way of life, and interactions with early humans. It is an enthralling story of paleontological, archaeological, and geological exploration and of the fascinating investigations of biologists, anthropologists, and art historians worldwide.
Copub: Marshall Editions ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

THE Mammoth guide
I found Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age to be a great overview of Mammoth natural history and paleontology. The book has a nice combination of photos and text. It is a visually appealing book with decent text. It could be used as a coffee-table book, or read straight through as a book. It is very comprehensive, including sections on the evolution of Mammoths, lifestyles, and history of excavations.

At times, I wasn't quite sure about the book's intended audience. The text seems a bit too advanced for kids, but too basic for readers familiar with Ice Age evolution. [[ASIN:0520261607 Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age] seems best for lay readers or diehard Mammoth fans. In fact, I found the evolution and natural history sections great, but the other sections a bit dry. Fortunately, the book works pretty well if you skip around and read only those sections that interest you.

Some reviewers have compared this to Paul Martin's Twilight of the Mammoths:: Ice Age Extinctions and the Rewilding of America (Organisms and Environments). However, Martin's book focuses more on the Ice Age extinction rather than the natural history of Mammoths. If you want a focus on Mammoths, Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age is your book.

This book is a revised version of an earlier book, and unlike many "revised" versions this book contains thorough revisions. It includes two full pages on Lyuba, the frozen baby Mammoth. I can't speak for every section of the book, but it does refer to recent discoveries.

Strangely contradictory...
I have given this book four stars, primarily because it is so well illustrated, and that it DOES contain the main arguments currently extant regarding mammoth extinctions, and is well-written as far as it goes.That said, given that this is a revised (third) edition, I would expect that careful editing to bring in the new material would bring to light some glaring contradictions and sway the discussion one way or another.There is a lot of mention in passing of the semi-mythical 'mammoth steppe,' there is essentially no discussion at all of the unique inter-relationship of the mammoth to that particular environment.In other words, the mammoth largely CREATED and maintained the mammoth steppe, much like the African elephant maintains the savannahs of Africa. The experimental efforts of Dr. Zimov in Siberia over the past few years have made that quite clear.Once you have that fact firmly in mind, if you look at the contraction of the mammoth steppe in the post-glacial period, it is obvious that this is representing not a 'shrinking environment that will ultimately doom the mammoth,' but in fact clearly represents the decimation of the mammoth through hunting or other vectors, with a contracting environment resulting (with unsurprisingly, the last vestige of such environment ending up on Wrangel Island).As mammoths lived in lots of environments besides the 'mammoth steppe,' it is clear that the mammoth was not at all dependent on either the climate, or the food resources of the mammoth steppe, but that the steppe was in fact dependent upon the presence of the mammoth.

Carrying this discussion further, the most obvious vector for extinction is clearly hunting by humans.The book devotes a large portion to documenting extensive evidence of human hunting of mammoths, with over 70 sites across the Russian plain where not just individual houses, but entire communities were essentially built on the bones of mammoths, mammoth bones burned as fuel (and they have to be relatively fresh, or they won't burn), huge caches dug in the permafrost and filled with mammoth meat and bones, sites in the US where mammoths have been slaughtered, butchered and eaten, with stone points left in the vertebrae and between the ribs and charcoal pits scattered around them... Yet for some reason, this does not give 'sufficient' evidence for extensive hunting by humans?

Finally, while the book is very much limited to the various species of mammoth alone, for future editions it might be wise to include an extensive section on the various mastodons of the time as well.This is important for several reasons.First, during all of the Pleistocene (and earlier), the mastodons/gomphotheres formed a distinct proboscidean parallel form to the mammoths, exploiting environments not generally favored by them, and vice versa.While mammoths generally preferred more open environments for grazing (and knocking down trees to obtain it), the mastodons were primarily browzers that preferred forests.Thus, when the climate changes, favoring either expansion of grasslands, or expansion of forests, either the mammoths or the mastodons would benefit, and thus proboscideans of one type or another continue.An examination of the impact of modern African elephants of the forest species gives some good clues as to the impact of large proboscideans on the dense forest, and its plants and animals as well that could be easily transferred to the mastodons of North and South America (much of the jungle of West Africa is so dense that the interior would be essentially impenetrable if not for the existence of extensive 'game trails' created by forest elephants).

Further, the mastodon/gomphotheres lived not only in North America, but extensively in South America as well (where they form a primary item on the menu of early human sites), living in jungles, upland environments, as well as the pampas further South where mammoths never reached (already occupying and exploiting the environments there).In Asia, a similar situation occured with Stegodons and more modern elephants occupying the heavily forested South, while the mammoths stayed further North.Yet in all cases, all but modern elephants were wiped out in a matter of just a few thousand years, even though all forms had been in occupance for more than a million years previously!There IS only one 'enemy' here, and that is US!

If you are looking for a good overview of mammoths, their descent and a good overview of current knowledge in a distinctly non-technical manner, I can recommend this book highly.If you are looking for deeper insights, then I am afraid you will have to either look elsehwere, or wait for an updated edition.Check out 'Twilight of the Mammoths,' by Paul S. Martin for a good examination of environmental factors at the end of the Pleistocene for more information.

Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age
This beautifully produced coffee-table size (mammoth) book is full of pictures, maps, drawings and text detailing the origins, natural history, interaction with humans and eventual extinction of the Mammoth. It's aesthetically on par with something produced by National Geographic or the Smithsonian Institute. The actual content however exceeds that, it is a labor of love written by someone who obviously has a lifetime of experience and knowledge about mammoths. Nor has it been dumbed down for a general or younger audience - the science is clearly explained and accessible. What do we know? How do we know it?

I read it cover to cover in under 4 hours and with all the visual aids (pictures, maps, drawings, graphics) carefully tied into the text, it is a multimedia joy, I only wish more science books could be this effortless. We know more about the extinct Mammoth than some living species because there are so many well preserved frozen in the ground, and the close relation with living elephants tells us a lot about behavior.

This is a third edition (1994, 2000, 2007) and some of the information is extremely recent, for example the best preserved Mammoth ever found was in early 2007, and there is a picture included! ... Read more