This Orq. (He Cave Boy) written by  David Elliott and illustrated by Lori Nichols (2014)
Orq is a cave boy. And he loves Woma, a wooly mammoth. But Woma sheds, is smelly, and is not house-trained. Orq’s mother wants Woma out of the cave. Orq decides to teach Woma tricks so his mother would love her too, but Woma just doesn’t get the hang of it. Then one day while Orq is playing that he is a mighty hunter, a sabertooth tiger stalks him. Woma appears just in time to save Orq from the sabertooth. Now Orq’s mother loves Woma!
David Elliott has created two wonderful new characters in this book. Orq is an imaginative young cave boy like most little boys today and Woma is just the kind of pet any young cave boy would love. The cave-talk language is perfectly blended with standard English and gives it the total feel of authenticity.
Lori Nichols has done a superb job of bring cave boys and wooly mammoths back from extinction. Her details in artwork mix modern and prehistoric elements seamlessly. She has convinced the reader that cave boys not only had pet wooly mammoths, but also played with stone wheeled tricycles and used colored pencils to draw pictures on cave walls.
I love this story! Orq and Woma are so convincingly real, I want to take them home with me. This is a book I would love to see made into a series.
Me love Orq… you will too!
Juliana Lee 