Filled with the fascinating words of Charles Darwinthis picture book biography reveals the assembling of a profound idea: the survival of the fitt...
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reviews
Nov 08, 2009
Debbie (Readerbuzz)
rated it: 
The third Cybils nominee that takes on Darwin. Like the other two, this one tells of Darwin’s life. This book includes excerpts from Darwin’s journal and letters.
A bit:
“In 1831, Charles Darwin set sail on the HMS Beagle, beginning what would become a five-year trip around the world. Seasick, he got off at every stop. He explored islands and coasts. He followed rivers. He climbed mountains and hiked through tropical rainforests. What Charles saw filled him with awe and left him belie More...
A bit:
“In 1831, Charles Darwin set sail on the HMS Beagle, beginning what would become a five-year trip around the world. Seasick, he got off at every stop. He explored islands and coasts. He followed rivers. He climbed mountains and hiked through tropical rainforests. What Charles saw filled him with awe and left him belie More...
Feb 22, 2010
Patricia
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What a charming book! The illustrations by Mary Azarian are beautiful, the prose is simple and clear, and I LOVED the snippets from original sources (Darwin's diaries, notes, letters, books). It had so many interesting details about his childhood, his love of experimenting and collecting, his thought processes, his theories that he kept secret, his critics, his friends and family. I loved that it shared his view that he "saw the universe as too amazing not to have been created by a God,"
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Jun 13, 2010
Teri
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What a great find!!! It's really important to me that my children are exposed to Darwin and the evidence he brought to light without a diminishing of their faith. I LOVE how this book tackles science and faith, because I really don't believe they are mutually exclusive. Here's one of my favorite quotes from the book:
"More than one hundred years after his death, some people still argue over his ideas. More and more people, though, have found that their religious beliefs and D More...
"More than one hundred years after his death, some people still argue over his ideas. More and more people, though, have found that their religious beliefs and D More...
Sep 18, 2011
Miriam
rated it:
Decent but rather dull picture-book biography of Darwin. And I'm quite interested in Darwin so if it didn't hold my interest I can't imagine it would do much for a small child. On the other hand, I'm mainly interested in his ideas and their ramifications, not his life, so maybe this would appeal more to someone else. I still think it would seem kind of dead, though. I didn't get a lot of sense of his personality or how he formulated his ideas. And the illustrations, although it a style I like (s
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Jul 20, 2010
Tanner
rated it:
This is a Picture book that could be used by social studies teachers to discuss many issues and topics such as, evolution, travel, discovery, dreams, perseverance, religion, and experiments. Alice McGinty writes this informational and nonfictional picture book in a descriptive way that is great to give the social studies student the story of Charles Darwin's life history. Also, this picture book has excellent illustrations, is clearly written, and is extremely informative.
Sep 12, 2010
Nora
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Beautiful illustrations (by Caldecott winner Mary Azarian) and just the right amount of text. A great book to use to discuss primary sources because it incorporates Darwin's letters with McGinty's text, and has a detailed footnotes section. More of an introduction to natural selection than a biography of Darwin.
Jul 25, 2009
Beth
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I didn't know a lot about Darwin, the man and found this book insightful. He was a religious man and one wonders what he would think about the continued uproar on natural selection. I also didn't realize that he wrote his book, so long after making his voyage.
Mar 27, 2009
Abby
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This picture book biography of Charles Darwin is a great introduction to the man for grade-schoolers. It gives an overview of his life and studies and includes quotes from some of his letters and notebooks. Woodcut illustrations are painted with watercolors.
Oct 12, 2010
Nomi
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Great story of Darwin's life and how he came up with his theory of natural selection/species adaptation/evolution. I love the excerpts from his journals/letters and the beautiful woodcutlike illustrations. Shows that religion/God and evolution can coexist.
Apr 03, 2011
Hannah
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What a fantastic book for introducing Darwin and some of his most important ideas to children! I learned things that I didn't know, and I enjoyed how they used real excerpts from his letters to tell the history.
Mar 16, 2011
Angela
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What a fantastic book for introducing Darwin and some of his most important ideas to children! I learned things that I didn't know, and I enjoyed how they used real excerpts from his letters to tell the history.
Sep 20, 2011
Margie
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Lars loved this one. It was a great readable story that incorporated real pieces from Darwin's journals and books and letters (to and from C.D.) impeccably. Nice illustrations as well.
Aug 16, 2010
Christina
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Too watered down...kids are smarter than this book lets on as it just touches the surface of some really neat ideas. So far I'm not impressed with the RIBCA Nominees for 2001.
Apr 21, 2009
Sam
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A well-done, thorough look at Charles Darwin's life. Fantastically illustrated by Mary Azarian, which is unsurprising considering she also did Snowflake Bentley.
Jun 30, 2009
Joann
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Lots of interesting insights into the man, and the scientific process--loved the handwritten letters, journal entries, etc.
Dec 19, 2010
Linda
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Good use of primary sources. Would be useful in a unit to introduce biography. Pictures are woodblock prints.
Nov 20, 2009
Mr.
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Good introduction to Darwin. List of more thorough books about him (and his biography) are included in this short book.
Sep 28, 2009
W.H.
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Handwritten words of Charles Darwin show the evolution of his idea of the survival of the fittest.
Apr 14, 2011
Marcyhowes
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Very Enjoyable. I believe that Darwin and his theories are misunderstood by many.
Jul 26, 2010
Chris
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This book was obviously biased and one-sided. It seemed like the author had one goal--to win young readers over to Darwin's beliefs and ideas.
Dec 10, 2011
This is an interesting book on the life of Charles Darwin. It has excerpts from his personal writings. It has many interesting facts.
Jan 13, 2012
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