MISSY WANTS A MAMMOTH by Pam Vaughan

Review by Amanda Smith

What a thrill to introduce you to a new humor-and-heart, sibling story: Missy and Mason visit the Museum of Natural History, where Missy spots a Woolly Mammoth and declares with all the passion of a six-year-old that she wants a mammoth of her own. Through a series of hilarious interchanges Missy, the ever-optimist, makes her case for why Malcolm the Mammoth would be an excellent pet, each time interrupting Mason just as he is about to explain why she can’t possibly have a mammoth.

Missy Wants a Mammoth (Pixel+Ink/Holiday House, 2024) will captivate young readers with funny banter between a vibrant girl and her very realistic, know-it-all big-brother. Colorful illustrations by Ariel Landy are filled with lots of movement and fun moments, and include some hidden surprises. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as they anticipate Missy’s impending disappointment, but they will be delighted by her enthusiasm, perseverance, and huge pay-off!

On Writing:
In Missy Wants a Mammoth, Pam Vaughan’s two characters shine as two completely different individuals, with their own unique voices. The text throughout is written as dialogue, with no exposition, yet both Mason’s and Missy’s personalities are consistently identifiable: the dreamer and the realist. Vaughan accomplishes this by giving exuberant optimist, Missy, vivid imagery, playful vocabulary, and enthusiastic interjections, while Mason, the earnest voice of reason, sounds almost academic with level-headed vocabulary. Take another look at your characters’ vocabulary and whether it differs and contributes to their unique personalities.

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Interior from Missy Wants a Mammoth. Text © 2024 by Pam Vaughan. Illustrations © 2024 by Ariel Landy. Used with permission from Pixel+Ink.

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Find out more about Pam Vaughan here, and don't miss her guest blog, The Funny Thing About Aspens (and Writing).
Find out more about Ariel Landy here.