Giblin, James Cross. (1999). The mystery of the mammoth bones. New York : HarperCollins.

This is a very detailed and specific account of artist and naturalist Charles Wilson Peale’s work to excavate, assemble, exhibit, and publicize the bones of two very large animals found on two farms in 1801 in Newburgh, New York. The farm owners had found some of the bones, but couldn’t access the rest. Once Peale had successfully excavated the bones, he assembled them into two skeletons with the assistance of physician and scientist, Dr. Caspar Wistar. He exhibited the skeletons in the United States and England, and his son, Rembrandt Peale, published an essay about the bones, which he thought were the bones of mammoths similar to those found in Siberia and Big Bone Lick (now Kentucky). A noted French scientist, Georges Cuvier, studied Rembrandt’s essay and the bones and concluded that the animal was not a mammoth, and he named it a mastodon. He also firmly concluded that the animal was extinct. Giblin notes that this was contrary to the beliefs of those scientists and Bible scholars who believed the Bible taught that none of God’s creations could end. The book continues with a brief description of the discoveries that came soon after of giant reptile bones, which were named “dinosauria.” The main body of the book concludes with an overview of 19th century theories about the age of the Earth (older than Bible scholars believed), the theory of uniformitarianism, the theory of evolution, and the establishment of a geographic time scale that is still used today. Following the main body of the book is a short, but detailed biography of Charles Wilson Peale, an essay about theories concerning how the mammoth and mastodon became extinct, a detailed explanation of Giblin’s sources, and a bibliography. There is an index at the end of the book.

This is an excellent source for 4th to 6th grade students to use to study the discovery of the mastodon. The award-winning author’s expertise and accuracy can be trusted since most of the information he used in his research came from primary sources. In fact, he notes that he relied heavily on the letters and journals of Charles Wilson Peale. He also used information from Rembrandt Peale’s 1803 essay on the “mammoth.”
In addition, his sources included a number of books about the scientific subjects addressed in his book, which he lists in the bibliography. Many of the illustrations came from the drawings and paintings of both Charles Wilson Peale and Rembrandt Peale. A photograph of the surviving intact skeleton is included.

Giblin includes a small amount of diversity in the book when he respectfully notes that a Native American tradition about the fate of certain huge creatures who once lived near Big Bone Lick supported a European theory about the whereabouts of the huge animals whose bones had begun to be unearthed in various spots around the world in the late 18th century. He also addresses social issues related to the conclusion scientists came to that bones like these who from animals who had become extinct when he discusses the effect this conclusion had on Bible scholars.

The book was designed to give in-depth information about the narrow topic of the discovery of the mastodon and it does this in an interesting and understandable narrative. It presents various 19th century viewpoints about the origin of the bones and the fate of the animals, along with a look at the opening up of scientific knowledge about animal extinction, evolution, and the age of the Earth that followed the discovery of the mastodon. The language is vivid and clear, and the illustrations are clearly labeled. The index is helpful to students looking for specific points and information in the book. ( )