Hanging Off Jefferson's Nose: Growing Up On Mount Rushmore by Tina Nichols Coury

Hanging Off Jefferson's Nose: Growing Up On Mount Rushmore Reviews

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  Edward Sullivan

  Interesting story of how Lincoln Borglum helped to complete his sculptor father's vision of Mount Rushmore.
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  Shari

  Read in preparation for our trip to Mount Rushmore. Interesting story with an emphasis on hard work and perseverance.
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  Susan Webb

  A fascinating look at the carving of the famous Mount Rushmore monument. The author expertly weaves interesting tidbits about the sculptor and his son and their greatest achievement together: the planning and carving of the Mount Rushmore monument. The reader learns how the crews blasted the hillside, erected buildings atop the monument, a town below, and scaffolding in between. Another interesting fact: they were going to carve rooms for records inside each president's head! Who knew? Well, now you know! I highly recommend this book for an engaging glimpse behind the jackhammers and dynamite to the greatness of American skill and ingenuity. A must read for young and old alike!
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  Sandy

  We just returned from a trip to South Dakota and visited Mount Rushmore. Gutzon Borglum was the sculptor but his young son, Lincoln, was an apprentice at the site from the time he was a young boy and after his father's untimely death, helped to bring the project to completion. My oldest child is 5 and this story was a little advanced for him. We stopped along the way and talked about the things we read. I think this may be a better book for ages 8 and up.
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  Debra

  The cover is what caught my eye. A very tiny man dangling from the carving of Thomas Jefferson's nose on Mount Rushmore. The book is beautifully illustrated and the story of how the monument came to life is told by the sculptor's son, Lincoln Borglum, as he grew up on the site. This definitely whet my appetite for more reading on this incredible feat of art and engineering.
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  Kristin Nelson

  Good information about Lincoln Borglum and the story of Mount Rushmore. Illustrations were well done. I don't love the title. The story jumps from when he is 8 to 12 to 15, so the "growing up" isn't really a part of it. I guess I'm just feeling picky today!
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  Stephanie

  Super conflicted because I'm pretty sure that this story does a nice job of making it sound like everything was fine and dandy with the Lakota nation whose land this is on? IDK. Feels weird.
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  Shirley

  This was such an interesting book to read about the story behind Mount Rushmore. It made me think about all the back stories to the many historical monuments and places in our country. I've always been fascinated by Mount Rushmore and hope to visit it someday. This book made the monument even more interesting for me!
  
  A lot of facts that I never knew about:
  
  -The monument was started by a famous sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, but he died before it was ever completed. His son, Lincoln, took over the project and dedicated the early part of his life to completing his father's dream.
  
  -There were 3 presidents originally planned for the monument: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson. Theodore Roosevelt was added with the persuasion of President Coolidge.
  
  -Thomas Jefferson's face was originally on the other side of the mountain, since the original spot had rock that was unusable. The crew had already started working on the half-finished image of President Jefferson but they had to blow off the mountain and start again on the other side.
  
  -Mount Rushmore took many years to complete--from August 10, 1927 to October 31, 1941.
  
  Last quote from the book that was heartfelt (last page):
  
  "While it was Gutzon Borglum who designed the great monument on Mount Rushmore, it was his dedicated son, Lincoln, who finished the amazing sculpture for all Americans, including many generations to come."
• 
  Brenda

  Hanging off Jefferson's Nose - Growing up on Mount Rushmore by Tina Nicholas Coury tells the story of Lincoln Borglum, the son of the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, who designed the great monument on Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore is amazing. It is stunning to see and imagining the enormity of the accomplishment is mind-boggling. And then you read the book and realize there is so much more involved - investigating the stability of the rock, creating two-story models so the 500 men working on the project would know the dimensions they were working on, keeping the crew safe and warm all year. It wasn't a fair weather project. Stairways, scaffolding, dynamite, starting over, taking care of the men, taking care of the Lakota tribe, adjusting and readjusting the design, losing your father, being commissioned as head sculptor and dedicating fourteen years of your life to see a project through to its end. I don't think you'll see any sculpture in the same way once you read this book. It is such an amazing feet of engineering and art created by an entire community dedicated to one task and doing something they believed in. Lincoln was 15 when his father began the project. He was 29 when he finished the project for his father. Just imagine.
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  Barbara

  The creative imaginings of sculptor Gurzon Borglum, Mount Rushmore, a rocky tribute to four American presidents, took 14 years to complete. Although he envisioned the challenging project and began the blasting and carving into the side of a mountain, Borglum did not live to see its conclusion. When he died, his twenty-nine-year-old son, Lincoln, who had learned how to perform many of the jobs associated with the project, completed the massive project. I was intrigued to read all the details about how the faces were created from the rocky surface as well as how the crew rigged 500 steps to the top of Mount Rushmore. The illustrations, created from black-and-white drawings and mixed media layered digital files are interesting to look at, showing as they do how the mountain and the presidential faces dwarf the men climbing around them. I would have liked additional information about what motivated Lincoln and how often the faces on Mount Rushmore need to be touched up due to the effects of weather, though.
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  Emily Hilkemann

  Americans are very familiar with the site of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt’s faces on Mount Rushmore, but do they know who designed it? Or how long it took to finish it? “Hanging off Jefferson’s Nose” tells about Lincoln Borglum who worked with his father, Gutzon Borglum, who designed and began the construction on Mount Rushmore in 1927. Gutzon died before it was finished, but he had taught his son everything he needed to know to be able to finish Mount Rushmore as we know and recognize it today. This book is a wonderful story of American history that would be great for kids in first through third or fourth grade.
  
  Coury, T. N., & Comport, S. W. (2012). Hanging off Jefferson's nose: growing up on Mount Rushmore. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
  
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  babyhippoface

  Gutzon Borglum was the sculptor who created the landmark at Mount Rushmore. His son, Lincoln, was on the scene, learning, every moment along the way, and when the elder Borglum stepped away from the project to pursue other work, Lincoln was made superintendent of the operation. For more than fourteen years he worked with his crew to immortalize four U.S. presidents in all kinds of weather, including thunderstorms, when he would hang under Jefferson's twenty-foot-long nose for shelter. There are some great bits of trivia here as well as a personal look at how Mount Rushmore's presidents were created. Classrooms that study national landmarks will want to include this interesting picture book in their curriculum.
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  Rene

  In this picture book biography, we meet the son of as he grows up in the shadows of Mt. Rushmore . The story is told through his eyes and recollections but it is a story of the nation as personalities and politics ebbed and flowed in the decades of work on the sculpture is told through his child-like eyes. Borglum's story is that of a boy who spent his childhood watching the progress and getting to know the workmen and families involved, eventually to take over the project and see it completed after his father passed away.
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  Angie

  Lincoln Borglum is the son of Guzman Borglum. Guzman was a fine sculptor and was asked to create a monument in South Dakota. That monument became Mount Rushmore. Guzman died before it could be finished, but his son Lincoln continued the work and Mount Rushmore stands as a testament to his dedication. This book is a wonderful introduction to a little known historical figure. I am sure most people have heard of Mount Rushmore, but few have probably heard of Lincoln or Guzman Borglum. This is a good place to start learning about them.
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  Angie

  I did learn more about Mount Rushmore and the men behind it than I'd known before ... but as that was about zilch it wouldn't have taken much.
  
  It really is a remarkable piece of art.
  
  The illustrations were my favorite part. I would have loved to have seen at least one or two original photographs at the end.
  
  
  I think I will get it for our school collection anyway. The topic and front cover would be enough to pique some kiddos' interest.
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  Brienz Wilkening

  This was a very interesting book about Mount Rushmore and how it came to be. I really liked this book because I have been to Mt. Rushmore before and so I could relate some of my personal experiences to what I was reading in the book. This book is written in a very kid friendly way, it follows a storyline, but it also have a lot of true, valuable information. The illustrations are also done very nicely with what appears to be chalk or oil paints and is full of vibrant colors.
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  Alice

  I was drawn to this book by the title. I was a little disappointed as it really didn't satisfy my curiosity about Mount Rushmore, and the hanging off Jefferson's nose. Maybe it is more satisfying for young readers who are drawn to the weirdness of the title and come away with a little history about Mount Rushmore.
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  Shelli

  Picture books that share a small piece of history in a simple way for young readers always is something exciting to come across. I learned more about Mount Rushmore in this read today then having ever known about it before. Absolutely fascinating! I would love to make a road trip and go see it live and in person :)
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  Holly Mueller

  I didn't know the background to Mt. Rushmore, and I've never been there, so this book was interesting to me. Lincoln Borglum was the son of the sculptor and took over the gargantuan task of finishing the massive sculpture. It's unbelievable how a work of art like that can be imagined and executed. This is a great book to share with kids to talk about art, determination, and human ingenuity.
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  Sandy Brehl

  When Lincoln Borglum was a young boy he began shadowing his brilliant sculptor father, leading him through the lifetime of learning that allowed him to complete the Mt. Rushmore carvings after his father died unexpectedly. This is a remarkable 'insider" story behind a truly remarkable monument.
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  Janet Frost

  This was an nice non-fiction/biography about the sculptors who created Mt. Rushmore. I guess I never really gave it much thought, how this national landmark was engineered. I think the illustrations are well done and it moves through the information at a pace that would hold student's attention.
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  Lois

  Eureka! Silver Award Winner, middle-grade biography of Lincoln Borglum, sculptor, who finished Mount Rushmore after his father's death, fascinating details of process and difficulties encountered, beautiful illustrations by Sally Wern Comport.
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  Jody Kyburz

  This book is well done with beautiful illustrations! I just went to Mount Rushmore and although I visited the studio and everything, I still learned new stuff from this picture book! It's totally Americana!