Will's Mammoth

by Rafe Martin, Stephen Gammell (Illustrator)

Though his parents explain there have been no mammoths for over ten thousand years, Will goes out in the snow one day, certain he will meet some

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 1989

About the author

Rafe Martin is an award-winning author and storyteller, as well as a lay Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani koan line. He is founding teacher of Endless Path Zendo, Rochester, NY.

He is the recipient of the prestigious Empire State Award for the body of his work, as well as multiple American Library Association Notable Book Awards and Parent's Choice Gold Awards. He has been featured at such storytelling events as the Joseph Campbell Festival of Myth and Story, The Sierra Storytelling Festival, and the National Storytelling Festival. He is the father of two grown children and lives with his wife, Rose, in Rochester, NY.

Reviews

[Roberta Decenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly a picture book but the pictures are stunning and the story easy to understand. A little boy loves wooly mammoths and has been told that they went extinct thousands of years ago. The little boy sets off on an adventure and brings them back to life with his imagination and with Stephen Gammel’s stunning art.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so full of joy and the treasures of a child's imagination. Will loves mammoths, but his parents tell him there aren't any mammoths left in the world today. But, Will is certain there are--he meets one every day in his snowy backyard ;-) The story is told mostly through the beautiful illustrations but don't miss Martin's dedication, which is so sweet and sets up the tone for the whole story.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

An almost wordless picture book, this story highlights the love of a young boy's favorite prehistoric creature, the mammoth. Based on imagination and the author's recollection and fond memories of his favorite childhood place, the Museum of Natural History in New York, where he discovered all types of prehistoric creatures and inspired the premise of this story. Great for young children with big imaginations.

[Bristol Daley · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Picture Book)
This book has beautiful illustrations that show how a boy explores his imagination with his friend mammoth. It fortifies children's creativity to imagine and think of a beautiful world and entire it and come back to reality when they want. I enjoyed reading this book because of the artist and helping kids to be more creative.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opening this book, I'm expecting woolly mammoth.

Instead I am fascinated by the most beautiful, delicate, fanciful watercolor illustrations -- thanks to illustrator Stephen Gammell.

These set the tone for the sweetly fanciful adventures about Will and his mammoth, beautifully conceptualized by Rafe Martin, and with just enough words.

[Alyssa Ricard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The prehistoric imagination of Will. The illustrations were so colorful, i love the use of "rainbow" colors on the mammoths tusks.

[Mitchell Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Gammell always delivers amazing illustrations. These are color illustrations, which seems rare for him.

[Andrea Renfrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. Very few words.

[Jessica Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will's Mammoth is a book by Rafe Martin all about the adventures of a little boy and his mammoth. Will was a little boy who was intrigued by the idea of mammoths and just knew that his parents were wrong when they told him that mammoth's no longer existed. However, Will did not believe them because he knew that there were still mammoth's and he was right! This book is all about Will and his mammoth and the places that they go and see. The mammoth takes him all across the land to see different sites and to show him what the life of a mammoth looks like. The boy and the mammoth encounter bears and saber tooth tigers, wolves and horses. They even see some of the people who lived during the time of the mammoths. Will and his mammoth have the best of time but will finds himself having to tell his "non-believing" parents what he did at the end of the day.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I think that there are so many different routes that you can take with the pictures in this story. The children could potentially come up with a different story every time the read the book. The parents disbelief makes the book fun because you feel as if you are watching a kid prove their parents wrong and experience something really wild and neat! I would use this book for kindergarten or early first grade. It would be a great tool to use to get kids thinking about books and using their imagination and critical thinking skills.

I think that Stephen Gammell's illustrations make this book. The use of color in his illustrations make an adult reading the book feel as if they were a kid. The illustrations only further lend to the imagination of an actual child. The fine details and particular attention that is paid to the pictures are exquisite but especially the detail to the mammoth is really special. You feel that if while reading this book you could see the mammoth just walk right off the page and onto the table. I really love how you feel as if all the illustrations are 3D because of the lines and the angles that the illustrator uses to portray movement. The illustrations in this book are overall fantastic and feed the imagination of all children.

[Courtney Sharpton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is wonderful for students who are still learning to read. This book has a little bit of text, however it tells a story only using pictures. This would be a great book to explain to kids that their are different types of literacy. This would be great to give developing readers confidence that they can read and teach them how to read pictures to figure out what the words they don't know say.

[Kathryn Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book that has dialogue in only the beginning and end. Allows for students to use their imagination and create their own story. I think this would work well with students who thrive on their imagination. I plan on using this book in a center and allow for the children to write a story or act it out.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful picture book with very few words about a very imaginative little boy who loves mammoths. I had the pleasure of hearing the author read this story to a group of kindergartners, and his interactive storytelling was a really fun experience.

[Mhm Storytelling]

This book would be great for storytelling themes for the Mammoths and Mastodons exhibit. This book introduces many animals from prehistoric times as a little boy goes exploring with his Mammoth. This book has great illustrations, but doesn't have many words, which could present a problem.

[Leslie Zinsmeister · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is in on a shelf for the importance of illustrations in a book. Most of this book is text free and tells the story through the illustrations. It does a great job for giving details without text. It shows the importance and significance of the art in a children's book.

[Myrna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love mammoths, and this picture book is wonderful. The book is mostly pictures, and they are so imaginative and beautiful.

[Stacie Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

No words. Awesome illustrations depicting Will's day with his imaginary snow mammoth. I liked the fact it only had words at the beginning and end yet it still made so much sense.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few words but the illustrations and child's imagination make it a good book.

[Colleen McCormack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that not only teaches students about an extinct animal, like the wholly mammoth, but also encourages kids to use their imagination. A fun and imaginative read.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting book, but didn't capture either my son's attention or mine. Nice for discussing winter and imagination.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the colorful nature of this. It's a really beautiful book.