Mammoth Science: The Big Ideas That Explain Our World

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.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 3–6—Caldecott winner and prolific author Macaulay offers capsule outlines of an astonishing range of scientific topics. A table of contents divides the text into broad sections, including "Energy," "Forces," and "Earth and Space." Subtopics in each section explore concepts such as density in the "Matter" section or evolution and natural selection in the "Life" section. There is no formula for the layout, but, as in many DK titles, each chapter addresses one topic. Big ideas are typically conveyed using a central illustration with a few expository paragraphs and one or more inset or subsidiary illustrations, annotated with brief explanations. For example, the page on plants shows how nutrients and energy are transferred, with a shrew using a mammoth snout to water the plant. A sidebar describes the process of photosynthesis in a chloroplast. All of the illustrations involve woolly mammoths and elephant shrews. The quirky illustrations are engaging (a page on materials depicts shrews constructing a mammoth-shaped home on wheels) and are also remarkably cogent and apt. The discussion of climate change is limited to a small inset on the page about the greenhouse effect. Source notes or suggestions for further reading are missing, but the text does include a glossary and an index. VERDICT As a ready source for reference, topic review, or for independent reading, this comprehensive title is visually enchanting and accessible. The obvious audience is elementary and middle grade readers, but there is much here to delight high schoolers and adults.—Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson M.S., Falls Church, VA