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Billions of Years, Amazing Changes: The Story of Evolution
by
Laurence Pringle (Goodreads Author),
Steve Jenkins
Ever since Charles Darwin revealed his landmark ideas about evolution in 1859, new findings have confirmed, expanded, and refined his concepts. Now, author Laurence Pringle, one of the nation's premier science writers, brings together the pillars of evidence that support our understanding of evolution in this ALA Notable Children's Book. Field biology, genetics, geology, p...more
Hardcover, 102 pages
Published
October 1st 2011
by Boyds Mills Press
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What I liked about this book was the clear, systematic explanation Pringle provided for the concept of evolution. The photographs and Steven Jenkins' outstanding cut paper illustrations supported the text beautifully. The chapter on genetics was particularly interesting to me, especially learning the organisms and animals scientists have been able to decipher the genomes of. I had also never heard of the terms convergent evolution or adaptive radiation before. A glossary at the back of the book...more
This is perhaps the best young readers' books on evolution I have ever read. It is incredibly clear and concise, very easy to follow, and manages to convey a wide array of complex ideas in a very easy-to-understand format. The pictures are gorgeous, and the overall setup of the book is quite intuitive, while refraining from being too overwhelming or going into unnecessary details. I marveled again and again at the absolute clarity of this book; I can't make enough positive comments about this bo...more
I was wavering between three and four stars for this one. It's a handsome, clear, and useful book that does what it's designed to do: it introduces evolution, and the reasoning behind it, to a middle-school aged audience. Because the text covers a great deal of ground (from continental drift to DNA to viral and bacterial mutations and exactly what a "species" is - not to speak of Lamarck, Huxley and Darwin!), it can only skim the surface of this complex subject. Gregor Mendel gets dismissed in a...more
Wonderful book on evolution for elementary age students. This book has clear and concise chapters on everything from DNA to continental drift to fossils to diseases. The illustrations are wonderfully clear and bright and really fit the text. Of course, there is so much covered by the book (basically everything that falls under evolution) that it only skims the surface on each topic. But there are a lot of wonderful tidbits of information in here that I wasn't aware of. I never thought of the stu...more
Fantastic choice for those a bit too young for The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True. I've read a lot of books on these subjects but I still had a lot of 'wow' moments. Check out the picture of all the different honeycreepers from Hawaii - all evolved in just 4 million years from one finch. Or the example of convergent evolution illustrated by the cacti and the euphorb. I especially loved the last chapter (and the bits sprinkled throughout) that reminded us that life is still evol...more
This could be read by a girl or boy who are in the grade 5 to 8. This book explains why unusual birds and plants evolve on isolated, faraway islands. The book describes the fossils that are shown with birds that have evolved from dinosaurs and whales from land mammals. It also gives examples of evolution that is happening right now with the species of birds, lizards, and bedbugs, and the rise to drug-resistant diseases. Then it also tells the exciting discoveries from genetics and other sciences...more
A gotta have for any school library as it addresses a subject in such a manner than even the most resistant reader will find him/herself flipping pages and even reading! Oh my!! Beautiful color photographs are supplemented by Stephen Jenkins' incredible cut paper illustrations. The needles on the cactus the cactus finch is sitting on look so real that you just have to touch them to make sure they aren't! Pringle is one of my all time favorite NF authors and pairing him with the talented Jenkins...more
In Billions of Years, Amazing Changes : The Story of Evolution, Laurence Pringle, an award-winning children’s science writer, traces the history of scientific discoveries relating to evolution.
He begins with early geologists, who noticed that rock layers showed the changes that had been made by powerful forces from inside the Earth, and who discovered fossils of strange creatures not found in their time. He describes the voyages of Charles Darwin and how his discoveries in the Galapagos Islands...more
He begins with early geologists, who noticed that rock layers showed the changes that had been made by powerful forces from inside the Earth, and who discovered fossils of strange creatures not found in their time. He describes the voyages of Charles Darwin and how his discoveries in the Galapagos Islands...more
Audience: 2nd grade to 5th grade students interested in the story of evolution.
Appeal: This is a great book for children interested in evolution, from animals to humans and to plants. This book was very easy to read, but informative and precise. It got to the point on various topics that would keep the reader interested. Because fiction can be sometimes harder to read, the index, glossary, and captions made it easier to follow.
Billions of Years, Amazing Changes 2011
Appeal: This is a great book for children interested in evolution, from animals to humans and to plants. This book was very easy to read, but informative and precise. It got to the point on various topics that would keep the reader interested. Because fiction can be sometimes harder to read, the index, glossary, and captions made it easier to follow.
Billions of Years, Amazing Changes 2011
An impressively comprehensive text on evlolution. Authoritative, readable, and richly detailed, but also very text-heavy for any unmotivated readers. Steve Jenkins is well-known for his oversized and intense illustrations, but here he served up scientific drawings to supplement the photographic images. The glossary is excellent, but I yearned for an index to make the text and specific information more retrievable.
This would be a great follow-up to the more accessible Ubiquitous.
This would be a great follow-up to the more accessible Ubiquitous.
I quite enjoy it. Ok that might be a bit strong. I've never really loved science books. This book makes a dry, boring, painful (all my personal descriptors) engaging and informative.
The photos and illustrations explain the text really well. The captions for the photos still tell a complete although much abbreviated story.
The concepts and history of evolution is clearly and concisely told story. It is the perfect text for anyone who wants a basic knowledge of evolution.
The photos and illustrations explain the text really well. The captions for the photos still tell a complete although much abbreviated story.
The concepts and history of evolution is clearly and concisely told story. It is the perfect text for anyone who wants a basic knowledge of evolution.
There aren't many books on evolution that are written for children, so this is fairly unique. Overall it does a good job, but sometimes I though the train of thought was a bit hard to follow. And sometimes the details seemed incomplete or confusing. But most of the book was interesting and would probably be useful for report writers or young scientists.
Audience: I think that this would be a great book for students in grades 2-4.
Appeal: This would be great for students who want to learn about the story of evolution and it is pretty easy to follow. I think boys would especially enjoy this book.
Award's List: NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
Appeal: This would be great for students who want to learn about the story of evolution and it is pretty easy to follow. I think boys would especially enjoy this book.
Award's List: NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
Great introduction to evolution with a mixture of photographs and cool illustrations by Steve Jenkins. I wish it had more of these photos and illustrations than it did though. Unless it was picked by a kid with a strong interest in evolution I think it would lose their attention quickly.
Very nicely done introduction to evolution for elementary age kids. Well researched, with a nice glossary, index, and bibliography. Happy I added it to the library collection.
The theory of evolution well explained with many photographs and illustrations and including historical information.
Great introduction to evolution for kids! However, I would have preferred a layout featuring narrower text blocks.
Attractive, conversational, informative. A worthy addition to the middle school library.
Notable Children's Book, 2013 ALA
ALSC Notable 2012
If you are looking to understand evolution, this is a great book to better understand it better - very interesting.
A great overview of evolutionary sciences - lots to spark a child's further interests.
Narrative non fiction
Apr 13, 2013
Asa
added it
Feb 05, 2013
Robin
marked it as to-read
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