Where is Mount Rushmore by True Kelley Book Review

It was world-famous sculptor Gutzon Borglum's dream to carve sixty-foot-high likenesses of four presidents on a granite cliff in South Dakota. Does that sound like a wacky idea? Many at the time thought so. Borglum faced a lot of opposition and problems at every turn; the blasting and carving carried out through the years of the Great Depression when funding for anything was hard to come by. Yet Mount Rushmore now draws almost three million visitors to the Black Hills every year. This is an entertaining chronicle of one man's magnificent obsession, which even today sparks controversy.

 My Thoughts:

 

This book is from the highly acclaimed Who Was series. They have a USA series or more accurately USA Road Trip if you want to learn more about more about the places in this great nation.

Where is Mount Rushmore? is full of history that is intriguing. I knew where Mount Rushmore is located and the presidents that are carved into the mountain. That’s all I know-sad, but true. I suspect that I’m not alone with knowing much more than that.

My family loves history. We just can’t get enough of it. I was excited to read this myself and then to pass it along to the kids.

This is a small chapter book with 12 chapter and 108 pages. There are several black and white illustrations throughout the book.

The back of the book has a full colored foldout map. One side of the map shows a picture of Mount Rushmore along with the avenue of flags, and portraits of the 4 presidents carved into the mountain. It also shows the official state quarter with Mount Rushmore representing the state along with some commissioned stamps. The other side of the map is just that it has a partial map showing you where Mount Rushmore is located.

Another interesting feature is a Timeline. Actually there are two timelines. One shows the timeline of Mount Rushmore starting from 1820s to 2006. On the other side of the page is a world timeline that shows events happening in the world during the time of Mount Rushmore.

The book starts out telling you where Mount Rushmore is and the history of the Black Hills. This part made me a bit sad as I have a few dear friends who are Lakota Sioux and from this region. 

Just to give you a heads up - evolution is talked about. I say bring it on as it’s a teaching moment with my kiddos on geology and the Biblical perspective of creation.

The sculpture is Gutzon Borglum. What a determined man-wow. He was eccentric and a bit hard headed. I would think he would need to be to create a massive sculpture out of a mountain. He created a sling chair for this project. Gutzon Borglum may have been the inventor who created the coffee break as he insisted those who worked with him took a coffee break and had a donuts daily while working with him.

There were a lot of problems from raising the money for the monument other unforeseen issues. Borglum had to deal with a lot of people during the process of this job which lasted till 1927-1941.

He made the expression and the eye features unique on each individual. He figured out how to carve a concave bowl into the eyes to play on the light and shadows. The eyes are eleven feet wide. Washington’s nose it twenty-one feet long .  A worker on the project said that nine men could take shelter under his nose to stay dry during the rain.

There is so much more information. I would highly recommend this book and the other books in the series. Other bloggers are going to be reviewing different books in this series over the next two weeks.

Week One

July 23 – Little Homeschool on the Prairie – Stop 1: Mount Rushmore

July 24 – The Book Return – Stop 2: The Mississippi River

July 25 – YA Book Nerd – Stop 3: The Grand Canyon

July 26 – @the.Bookplate – Stop 4:  Walt Disney World

July 27 – Jenn’s Book Vibes – Stop 5: The White House

Week Two

July 30 – Gypsy Road – Stop 6: Niagara Falls

July 31 – KidLitExchange – Stop 7: Alcatraz

August 1 – Library Lady’s Kid Lit – Stop 8: The Brooklyn Bridge

August 2 – For Mommy’s Dragons – Stop 9: Empire State Building

I received a free copy of this product from Penguin Random House in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this information accordance with the FTC Regulations