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The Mammoth Academy


The Mammoth Academy
by Neal Layton
New York: Holt, 2006. Intermediate fiction.

In the Ice Age, mammals of all persuasions went to school at the Mammoth Academy (motto: By Tusk and Trunk). Oscar the mammoth doesn't like school all that much, and likes it even less when he follows a trail of mysterious footprints and orange peels only to be blamed for the theft of oranges from the school cafeteria. Together with his friend Fox, who refuses to shower because he believes after you arrive at a certain level of stinkiness your body becomes self-cleaning, they track down the cavemen who have been rifling the cupboards. Layton's hairy pictures are a perfect complement to his goofball text. Children should be especially fond of Oscar and Fox's daring escape from the Cavemen when their guard is overcome by Fox's smell and they hurdle down the hill on their new invention--a log with wheels. Perfect for beginning readers who like lots of pictures, lots of action, and not too much text.

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