In typical Suessionian fashion, the book Once upon a Mastodon uses Suess' signature shyming patterns to briefly teach the reader of ice age mammals and information related to their size and scope in the prehistoric world. It is filled indiscriminately with fun facts but they seem strewn throughout and the book doesn't seem complete in some sense. I sensed that a child will be drawn to its meter and like that part of it, but may be distracted somewhat by the facts themselves. I love this book for younger readers k-1, and would use this to draw interest in rhyming patterns and vocabulary development, and also sparking interest in an underlying hope that the reader may want to look more at the subject of prehistoric mammals. In that sense, these Cat in the Hat Learner Library Books do provide a host or related resources at the end for this to happen. I liked that the most of this book. ( )

I have never been a big fan for Cat in the Hat books. However, I decided to give this book a try since it's a nonfiction "Learning Library" science book. I thought it may be a little different than their rhyming style. Each page in this book has a little rhyme that does give factual information about animals. To me it is a bit confusing and it is hard for me to learn the content. However, I think these books appeal to children because it is cartoony and colorful. Some children have learning styles that make the sing-song poem easier for them to retain. ( )

This Cat in the Hat book does more than just rhyme, it teaches readers about prehistoric mammals. The story is led by the wonderful Cat in the Hat who is introducing various mammals, that are now extinct, to two children. The illustrator added the pronunciation of the difficult animal names which I found to be helpful. Dr. Seuss had no artistic say in this but the art still has his particular style but I found it amazing how accurate the drawing portrayed some of the animals while still having that Seuss look. The story also shares information about how these prehistoric animals are discovered and compares them to modern day items to give the readers a true idea of what these creatures were like. I think the rhyming is cute and playful but overall this is a really insightful book. ( )

This science book could teach children a variety of different things.The book is told by the cat in the hat and all his knowledge. The book goes into what mammals are and how some mammals are extincted now. The book also talks about about words that children might not know like fossils, extincted, and stone people. These words are easy enough for children to understand.These are all great subjects to teach to children. This book helps students learn and have fun at the same time. ( )

Once Upon a Mastodon could be used to teach students about what a mammal is and help students to learn what kinds of animals are and are not mammals. The story is told by The Cat in the Hat and it rhymes which is something children will most likely be familiar with. In the book, children can learn the definitions of words like fossil and mammal which is good because it helps children to understand what some more complex words mean. The definitions are not over simplified, but are easy enough for children to understand. It gives examples of mammals like sloths, wolves, and bears and also gives their scientific names. This is a good book for children who like learning about science and animals. ( )