MAMMOTHS ON THE MOVE

With mountainous dignity, mammoths lumber across wide prehistoric landscapes as Wheeler traces their ancient annual round in verse: “Come colder days, those mammoth herds / migrated south, just like the birds. / Their menu had to be improved, / so mammoths packed their trunks and moved.” Limning heavy tusks and each shaggy lock in strong lines and rich golden hues, Cyrus views the page-filling pachyderms from low angles, capturing a sense of their massive presence as they loom over small trees, plod through snow storms, gather in a defensive circle at the sight of a saber-toothed tiger and paddle, trunks up across deep water. (Wheeler notes at the outset that scientists extrapolate mammoth behavior from watching modern elephants.) Young audiences will be riveted by this compelling introduction, and rightly tempted to echo the awed refrain: “Big and bulky, / huge and hulky, / wide and woolly mammoths!” (Picture book nonfiction. 7-9)