Mammoths on the Move    by Lisa Wheeler & Kurt Cyrus Order:  USA  Can Harcourt, 2006 (2006) Hardcover      Reviewed by Hilary Williamson Want to brush up on mammoth lore with kids in time for Ice Age 2? Lisa Wheeler takes us on migration with 'wonderful wooly mammoths' on their long trek south, in verse. Kurt Cyrus's lovely illustrations display the beauties of the wintry world these shaggy-coated creatures leave, and the melting warmth they reach in southern climes. Wheeler begins her paean to this grand ancestor of the elephant: 'Fourteen thousand years ago / the north was mostly ice and snow. / But woolly mammoths didn't care - / these beasts had comfy coats of hair. / Fuzzy, shaggy, / snarly, snaggy, / wonderful woolly mammoths!' She continues in rhyme to enthusiastically tell us about their eating habits, annual migration, snowshoe feet, matriarchal leadership, swimming ability, and protective reaction to danger. I love Wheeler's summation of the mammoth migration - '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.' How does it end? In an undending trek - 'They reached the south by winter's end ... / ... then started heading north again!' Lisa Wheeler, one of my favorite children's writers, is at the top of her form in Mammoths on the Move, while Kurt Cyrus's illustrations do her verses full justice. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews