Thomas Jefferson and the Mammoth Hunt
The True Story of the Quest for America's Biggest Bones
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In this rhyming, hilarious romp about a little-known facet of American history, Thomas Jefferson tries to disprove a French theory that those in the New World are puny and wussy by going in search of mammoth bones.
In the New World called America big changes were a’brewing.
Independence was declared with bold hurrahs and ballyhooing!
The French feel threatened by America’s new freedom and confidence, as embodied by Count Buffon who claims that the “New World was a chilly, swampy place, filled with puny, scrawny creatures, every species, breed, and race.” Thomas Jefferson won’t stand his young country being insulted, so he sets out to prove Count Buffon wrong. He sends people across the country in search of an animal or animal bones to prove that creatures in the United States are big and strong and worthy.
Hilarious, energetic, and a delight to read aloud, this book shines a light on this little-known slice of American history. Included in the back matter are an author’s note, who’s who and what’s what from American history, bibliography, and further reading.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Clickard (Dumpling Dreams) employs rhyming nonfiction to recount Thomas Jefferson's search for mammoth bones in the newly formed United States. Jefferson wants to refute French scientist Georges-Louis Leclerc, who trivializes the nascent nation: "He claimed the New World/ was a chilly, swampy place,/ filled with puny, scrawny creatures,/ every species, breed, and race." Leclerc, also known as Count Buffon, subscribes to a degeneracy theory, suggesting that European immigrants and their children settling in "an unprolific land" (the U.S.) would become degenerate. Jefferson enlists the help of Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, and others to search for large animals or their fossil remains, until he is finally able to send a mastodon skeleton to France. Carpenter's (Have You Heard About Lady Bird) digitally rendered illustrations are full of playful soup ons Jefferson measures mouse holes and moose antlers in one series of vignettes complementing the jaunty verse. A full-page author's note (dedicating the book to the "lost voices" of slave laborers involved in the search), further reading list, primary source quotes, and a glossary conclude this true tale. Ages 4 8. Author's)
