My Mastodon

by Barbara Lowell, Antonio Marinoni (Illustrator)

Inspired by the 19th-century lives of artist and scientist Charles Willson Peale's family, this is a tale of a girl and her favorite companion—a fossilized mastodon!

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Museums, Childrens, American History, Historical

32 pages, Hardcover

Published February 25, 2020

About the author

Barbara Lowell is the author of Sparky & Spike: Charles Schulz and the Wildest, Smartest Dog Ever; Daring Amelia; Alexander Hamilton American Hero and more books for children including: My Mastodon (Spring 2020) and Behind the Bookcase: Miep Gies, Anne Frank and the Hiding Place (Spring 2021)

Reviews

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I exist both as a children's librarian and a metalhead so when I saw this book in my library's picture book collection....I just had to, ya know?

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable for those with a little background in the Peale family and early American natural history, but the story on its own wasn't terribly compelling. I loved the sweet, old-fashioned illustrations, though.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fictional portrayal of a real family with a heavily old-fashioned feel. The illustrations are soft and realistic and carefully composed. The story is light and fluffy -- Sybilla is worried she will lose her mastodon friend, but there is really no danger here, and she seems quite spoiled by her older brother. So everything works out. The mastodon skeleton does indeed travel around, but with the understanding that it will return home.

The Author's Note offers a little more background on the Peale family, but this picture book mostly just whets the appetite.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fact-inspired version of a privileged family of early-science-museum folks will appeal to kids who are enthralled by dinosaurs and fossils. In this case the earliest scientific discoveries (and theories) of prehistoric life forms spawned pop-culture and individual fascinations. Pair this one with books about Mary Anning, whose engagement with fossils was a down-and-dirty approach compared to this indulgent life style.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of all the fascinating stories that could be told about Charles Willson Peale and his family, this one focuses on his daughter’s inexplicable attachment to her “fossilized friend.” Huh. Likewise, the illustrations emphasize the marginalia of what was an extraordinary achievement in natural science in its day.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this are incredibly detailed and lovely. The former ranger in me is freaking out over how casually all the museum pieces are handled ("you can't hug the mastodon skeleton!!"), but I get the feeling it was a different era and I shouldn't judge too harshly.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just didn't find this book very interesting or engaging. Based on a true story, it just didn't provide enough information to really engage the reader or decide what it wanted to be a story about. I found it very underwhelming.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fictionalized story of the family that ran and lived in an early natural history museum in the US.

Kind of a sibling story (with Sybilla's older brother Rembrandt featuring very heavily), kind of about sharing wonderful things with others?

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

About America's first natural history museum and the family that lived there.
A tiny bit about the expedition to unearth the mastodon / mammoth bones.

Definitely about sharing loved things with others.

[Heidi McFadzean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures that fit perfectly with the historical time period. The story is sweet, slow and gentle. I've got little boys, and they liked it because of the mastadon, but weren't drawn in enough to want to read it more than once.

[Cyril · Rating 4 out of 5]

We loved this look at a family who lives in a museum, and a girl who loves a fossil.

[Ardith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely picture book about a girl who lives in a Natural History Museum. I imagine as a child I would have found this book so magical.