Land of the Thundering Herds

by Justin Denzel

Prehistoric animals--including Mammoot, the matriarchal leader of the mammoth herd, and Teratorn, the giant condor--describe their ever-present battle for survival in a harsh world, populated by such enemies as Ungog, a determined human hunter.

148 pages, Hardcover

Published October 27, 1993

About the author

Justin Denzel was an American author of children's and young adult books.
He was born in Clifton, New Jersey in 1917. As a child he showed an early interest in nature that was to reappear later in his books. He worked for some years in Alaska, where he wrote for an Alaskan newspaper. He gave up writing after an unsuccessful attempt to write an adult novel, however when he returned to writing he realized he liked to make short stories and children's novels more.
Many of his books featured nature and animals and tend to have a historical setting.

Reviews

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life (and death, lots of death) as seen through the eyes of the animals on the grassy plains of Prehistoric North America. The writing is great, but the content is maybe not for everyone. The story unfolds through short chapters which each provide the point of view from different animals. This perspective is interesting and very engaging. True to nature, there are several scenes in which an animal is harmed or killed, but it is not graphically described or overly ruminated on. It is just a fact of life, undeniable and realistic. There are also many moments of courage, perseverance, and compassion.

[Sam_mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this book. It informed me a lot about prehistoric America, and all the animals that lived there. I learned about mammoths, lions, condors, bison, and more. I also really liked the writing style of this book. There was no dialog, but it still told a great story. What I did not like, was how there were different stroylines for each animal, but they never met. In conclusion, this is a well written book, and I reccomend it.

[Lefty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to go back and re-read one of Denzel's books again, which I read over and over again as a teen.