Mammoth Science: The Big Ideas That Explain Our World

by D.K. Publishing, David Macaulay (Illustrator)

David Macaulay's troupe of curious mammoths lead you through the basics of physics, biology, and chemistry in this unconventional and highly original guide to science.

From the interior of an atom to the solar system and beyond, the mammoths seek to understand the science! These intrepid science demonstrators will go to incredible lengths to educate and entertain. They wrestle with magnets to understand their powerful force, make mammoth models of different materials explore what gives them mass, and step into an X-ray machine to reveal the bones beneath their woolly exterior.

Observing and recording the mammoth's behavior is bestselling illustrator David Macaulay, whose How Machines Work won the Royal Society Young People's Book Prize in 2016. Renowned for his ability to explain complex ideas with simple genius, Macaulay captures the oddball humor of his subject matter, making Macaulay's Mammoth Science the perfect introduction to scientific principles for the young and the young-at-heart.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Stem, Spanish Literature, Picture Books, Childrens

159 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 4, 2020

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Nancy Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's no better pairing than David Macaulay and DK books! General science concepts are presented in a memorable way, through wooly mammoths and elephant shrews (although, ick, the shrews look like rats to me).

Chapters are divided into five broad categories: matter, earth and space, life, forces and energy. Under each category, pages are devoted to subcategories. For example, under "life" there are pages on cells, bacteria, bones, breathing, plants, flowers, etc.

The information on humans is often juxtaposed with the same information as it pertains to mammoths, and sometimes the mammoths are used to demonstrate something, like how matter reacts. Do we still have mammoths? How do we know anything about them? Whatever... they're adorable!

Mr. Macaulay's drawings, as always, are fantastic. The text is comprehensive but it can be simplified for younger readers. Older readers will be able to absorb information at their own pace. So many students are being taught at home this year because of the pandemic. This will be a great resource for parents, tutors and teachers.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a page at a time to my 6-year-old and 9-year-old. We used up all 10 renewals at the library and had to read the last little bit in a hurry. It had fun pictures and interesting ideas that sparked conversations and questions.

[CCPL Buzz]

JZ

[Samir Kagadkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a far gentler version of David Macaulay’s now classic “The way things work”.

What’s not to like about mammoths (and a few shrews) teaching science?