Overview
Imagine discovering a creature that's been extinct for tens of thousands of years. Everything is still there--skin, hair, blood cells, the food in it's stomach, and even its DNA! The Ice Age that was home to legendary woolly mammoths provided the perfect conditions to preserve their bodies.
Let your imagination soar as Sandra Markle uncovers the secrets of these long-extinct behemouths in the latest entry in the award-winning Outside and Inside series. How did these distant relatives of the elephants live, and why did they become extinct? The bodies they left behind give scientists clues about their disappearance and the genetic material to possibly clone woolly mammoths today.
Synopsis
Imagine discovering a creature that's been extinct for tens of thousands of years. Everything is still there—skin, hair, blood cells, the food in it's stomach, and even its DNA! The Ice Age that was home to legendary woolly mammoths provided the perfect conditions to preserve their bodies.
Let your imagination soar as Sandra Markle uncovers the secrets of these long-extinct creatures in the latest entry in the award-winning Outside and Inside series. How did these distant relatives of the elephants live, and why did they become extinct? The bodies they left behind give scientists clues about their disappearance and the genetic material to possibly clone woolly mammoths today.
Children's Literature
"So what happened to woolly mammoths? In this book, you will find out what science and technology have helped scientists discover about woolly mammoths, why scientists think they may have become extinct, and why some researchers think woolly mammoths could one day roam the Earth again." On the first page of this book, which is part of the "Outside and Inside" series, Markle's clearly states her purpose in her books so readers will understand what follows. Comparisons of woolly mammoths to the Asian and African elephants of today bring the information to life and make it relevant to today's world. These comparisons, made through pictures and explanations, contrast the mammoth's and elephant's size, ears, climate, habitat, eating, and tusks. Full-color photographs, a glossary and an index, a list of facts, and a list of resources complement the informative text. This piece would be an excellent addition to a science class in an upper elementary classroom. Reviewer: Jamaica Johnson Conner
Editorials
Children's Literature -
Markle has written numerous nonfiction books and articles and her smooth writing style helps make a complex subject easily understood. The opening spread of Outside and Inside Wooly Mammoths shows a baby that lay frozen in the earth for thousands of years. Readers learn that the body dried, that most of the hair was lost, and that the mammoth which looks like an elephant is now extinct. Markle helps with an understanding of mammoths by comparing and contrasting them to elephants (which also imparts quite a bit of information about Asian and African elephants). A map shows the area where mammoths roamed. Markle explains how the earth's climate has changed since the days when these creatures roamed. Samples of teeth and tusks were examined, as well as bones, all of which help in understanding what mammoths ate, how they moved, and what might have led to their extinction. The pictures taken with the electron microscope and enlarged reveal what the hairs looked like and how they worked to keep the mammoth warm. Also for the first time the researchers were able to see blood from a mammoth and analyze a bit of its DNA—perhaps it will be possible to clone a wooly mammoth. The book closes with a glossary that also serves as an index, and additional facts and places to go to obtain more information. Another excellent book that should appeal to readers fascinated by extinct large mammals and how scientists are learning more about them.Children's Literature -
"So what happened to woolly mammoths? In this book, you will find out what science and technology have helped scientists discover about woolly mammoths, why scientists think they may have become extinct, and why some researchers think woolly mammoths could one day roam the Earth again." On the first page of this book, which is part of the "Outside and Inside" series, Markle's clearly states her purpose in her books so readers will understand what follows. Comparisons of woolly mammoths to the Asian and African elephants of today bring the information to life and make it relevant to today's world. These comparisons, made through pictures and explanations, contrast the mammoth's and elephant's size, ears, climate, habitat, eating, and tusks. Full-color photographs, a glossary and an index, a list of facts, and a list of resources complement the informative text. This piece would be an excellent addition to a science class in an upper elementary classroom. Reviewer: Jamaica Johnson ConnerSchool Library Journal
Gr 4-8
Markle has been detailing the outsides and delving into the insides of a wide variety of creatures over the years, and here she looks at and into that Ice Age favorite, the woolly mammoth. With some sidelights about present-day elephants for comparison, she investigates skeletal remains-teeth, tusks, legs, feet, and other body parts. And, from the remarkable frozen finds on the icy tundra, she discusses hair composition, heart and trunk structure, blood chemistry, and the contents of mammoth digestive systems. She posits questions regarding their extinction-food-supply changes, climate change, disease, human hunting-and the possibility of cloning, using a female elephant as a surrogate mother. Excellent-quality photos include preserved remains, electron micrographs, and three-dimensional CT scans. Even libraries that own Windsor Chorlton's attractive Woolly Mammoth: Life, Death, and Rediscovery (Scholastic, 2001) or Caroline Arnold's equally handsome When Mammoths Walked the Earth (Clarion, 2002) should make room for this eye-catching and informative title.
—Patricia ManningCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.