Mammoth Pie by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
| Mammoth Pie by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Jo Heffer
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| Summary: Many years ago, there was a fat mammoth who lived on top of a mountain. Down in the valley lived a caveman who was very thin and very hungry. The caveman decided to come up with a plan to capture the mammoth and bake him in a pie ready to eat. However, unfortunately for the caveman, the mammoth has other ideas. It's a battle of wills but which one will win? | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: August 2012 |
| Publisher: Andersen | |
| ISBN: 9781482707579 | |
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On top of a mountain there lived a fat mammoth.
Down in the valley there lived a thin caveman.
The caveman was hungry. Very, very hungry.
He saw the mammoth and licked his lips.
The caveman, who was called Og, decided that he was going to catch the mammoth and put him in a pie. The mammoth was not scared though as he realised that the caveman had no trap to trip him, no cart to carry him, no pot to hold him and no fire to cook him in. There was no way that he was going to be made into mammoth pie. What the mammoth did not realise though was that Og had many friends whom he went calling on. Each time, he asked his friends to provide something, such as a spear or a trap, promising in return a slice of mammoth pie. The friends, Ug, Gog, Bog, Nog and Mog, all agreed and soon they were ready to set off and capture their prey. You would have thought that the mammoth's time was up and there would be no way that he could escape those well organised cavemen. Never fear though as the mammoth had a cunning plan of his own and had no intention of ever ending up in a mammoth pie!
This is a thoroughly entertaining book and we liked the fact that there was a good twist in the tale. My daughter was totally convinced that the mammoth was heading for the pie and was quite worried. She was then very impressed when the mammoth turned things around. It was clever the way that the cavemen appeared to outwit the mammoth and ended up being outwitted themselves.
It is a well written story that is set out in verse although it does not rhyme. There are quite a few repetitive phrases though which should appeal to young children and help them join in with telling the story. This repetition will also help newly confident readers who might be having a go at reading independently. Having said that though, I think that this is an ideal book for sharing as there is so much to talk about and enjoy together.
The illustrations, by Tony Ross, are superb and really help to tell the story. There's lots of comical detail and eagle-eyed readers will notice that on each page you can see the mammoth observing from a distance and making sure that he knows about everything that the cavemen are scheming.
All in all, 'Mammoth Pie' is a very enjoyable book that will be enjoyed by both children and their parents."
Why not take a look at some more Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross collaborations such as Old Dog or Dr Xargle's Book of Earth Tiggers
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