Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble Problem

by Lauren Soloy

Etty Darwin and her famous father go for a walk to ponder life, science . . . and fairies! Inspired by the real-life daughter of Charles Darwin.

Etty loves make-believe.
Her dad loves science.
Etty believes in fairies.
Her dad would need to see some proof that they exist.
But they both love nature, conversation and each other.

A gorgeous rumination on belief and imagination featuring Henrietta (Etty) Darwin and her famous father, Charles. Etty went on to become a valued and keen editor of Charles's work and a thoughtful and intellectual being in her own right. This imagined conversation between Etty and Charles as they stroll around Charles's real-life thinking track explores their close relationship and shows that even science is nothing without an open mind and imagination.

Genres: Picture Books, Science, Childrens, Stem, Nonfiction, Biography, Fairies

48 pages, Hardcover

Published May 18, 2021

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

So yes indeed, Lauren Soloy's 2021 picture book Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble Problem is in many ways absolutely textually as well as visually delightful, with Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble Problem telling a biographical fiction anecdote of Etty (Henrietta) and her father, the famous naturalist Charles Darwin going for a walk on their property, with readers/listeners learning how Darwin has constructed a special oval path (the Sandwalk) which he uses as a place to walk, to ponder, with his daughter accompanying him in Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble Problem and both of them mulling over and discussing a very specific question that young Etty is thinking about and that is also dear to her heart, namely whether fairies actually do exist. Thus over the course of four turns around the Sandwalk, Etty and Charles Darwin jointly discuss and debate the possibility of fairies' existence, how to ask and consider such questions, how to see and learn from the natural world around us, and how to be open to basically all possibilities as we try to develop answers to our queries by seeking proof, sifting through visual evidence, keeping an open mind, and always to keep on asking, even if sometimes the answers to our questions might not end up being all that much to our personal liking and desires. And furthermore, and most definitely, most certainly, while with Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble Problem Lauren Soloy does not actually get into Charles Darwin's theory of evolution (and that Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble Problem is actually first and foremost simply and beautifully a story of a father and daughter walk and where the father, where Charles Darwin, is always taking Etty's questions, even her inquiries regarding whether fairies are real nicely and totally seriously), implicit in Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble Problem are also important and essential basic lessons regarding science, knowledge and that with any intellectual pursuit, keeping an open mind is not only important but also required and an absolute necessity.

Now the accompanying artwork for Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble Problem provides a nice visual melange of conventional pictures mirroring both the story and also the ideas being demonstrated and discussed, as well as featuring graphic novel like speech bubbles to capture the conversation between Charles Darwin and his daughter. But while Lauren Soloy's pictures for Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble Problem are colourfully descriptive, teeming with warm shades of green, red and brown and showing nicely realistic renderings of flowers, grasses, birds, butterflies etc. (and yes, a visually successful reflection of her text, of her printed words), well, for my own and personal aesthetics both Charles and Etty Darwin look a bit flat and cartoon like and that Etty's constantly frowning facial expression does indeed visually annoy me a bit (not enough for me to consider a lower ranking than four stars for Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble Problem, but that a less severe looking Etty Darwin and Lauren Soloy also providing the bibliographic sources for her research on Charles Darwin and his family would definitely be needed for me to consider a five star rating for Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble Problem.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is lovely and important. Though Soloy has imagined this conversation between Etty and her famous father, the walks they took together around the family garden did happen, and it feels possible they could have had a discussion like this. Still, I think this is stronger as a book about interpersonal relationships than it is a biography of the Darwins, so do keep that in mind if you are looking for something more truly biographical. There is an author's note that has more biographical information explaining how Etty helped her famous father with his work and even edited some of his writing, and that Charles did most of his thinking on daily walks around the oval garden path he had made for just that purpose, and that the children were always welcome to walk with him. But, there is no source material etc.
What I appreciate here is that the child and parent have such different perspectives and attitudes, yet they both clearly love one another, and they are willing to try and see the other's point-of-view. Etty insists that there could be fairies, and, when pressed, Charles Darwin really can't disprove it -- even though he is, of course, skeptical and doesn't personally believe in it. However, he doesn't beleaguer his point. He uses this as an opportunity to teach Etty how to explore scientifically, yet he doesn't crush her imagination. In the end, he thanks Etty for reminding him to keep an open mind. And they both agree that they feel better after their walks, because they are together. I love so many things about this! The only reason I'm not giving it five stars is that the illustration style wasn't my favorite, but it didn't detract overmuch for the overall reading pleasure for me.

[Storytime With Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lauren Soloy’s gorgeous new picture book Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble
Problem is a step back to the past. It’s a story about Henrietta Darwin and her famous father Charles Darwin and their laps on The Sandwalk and how they solve problems with a rambling walk in nature.

The book is full of colour in a comic and prose style, parents with young children will be very familiar with the interactions between Charles and Etty, all the chitter chatter that happens when you take a walk with a young child. They solve a lot of life’s problems on their walks in nature, a fantastic reminder to young readers of the power of the natural world to clear the mind and provide comfort. I love that the problem they are trying to solve is the existence of fairies and as they finish laps of The Sandwalk they use pebbles to mark their progress. It takes four pebbles to come to a conclusion while wondering about all the beauty that surrounds them.

I am enjoying the picture books that are told in part comic and part prose style, giving young readers a taste of the graphic or comic style of writing while also appealing to those who love a good literary story. Our favourite is the full page spread of the fox. It is stunning and surprising and one of our favourite moments in the story. I love how it looks in PDF form so hopefully it will translate when the book is printed and bound as it is an incredible moment in the story. During the story, there is no ultimate conclusion to the question about fairies but there are a lot of questions that lead to hypotheses which then lead to more questions. It’s important for children to know that having the answers sometimes is less important than knowing the questions to ask and following their thinking, even if it just leads to more questions. This is how we make sense of the world.

This book falls within the narrative non-fiction category. As Lauren Soloy notes at the end of the story, everything written is about two people who actually existed and their walks together, pondering on The Sandwalk. While we don’t know the exact content of their chats and discussions, we know that Etty likes to write fairy stories so can infer that they may have talked about them as well. As with all awesome non-fiction, there is a section at the end of the book in the author’s note to let readers know about the real people behind the story and how Etty Darwin was a huge help to her famous father and his work.

[Snail · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found Lauren Soloy’s art a bit off-putting, though I haven’t put my finger on exactly why yet. Perhaps it feels a little flat to me. The story and writing were fine, and encouraging readers to think about the world, ask questions, and be open-minded is a nice goal. Didn’t have a huge impact on me, particularly… though I hadn’t known that Darwin had children, let alone ten of them. So that was an interesting fact to learn.

[Maggi Rohde · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much here to unpack, I will come back later to review.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It will be released May 18, 2021 by Tundra Books.

Henriette (Etty) Darwin, was Charles Darwin's third child. Her two older siblings died at a young age. Etty, although a sickly child, lived to be 84. When she grew up she edited some of her famous father's work and was her mother's biographer.

The family home had a sand path that Darwin like to walk on and think. Often his children accompanied him on his rounds. This book imagines such a meander with Etta.

First they set out flint rocks to determine how many laps around the garden they will take. On this excursion, they decide upon four. As the two of them amble along, Etta asks her father questions. She is especially interested in whether or not fairies are real. Even when she doesn't like his answers, Etta always appreciates that her father never treats her questions as childish or silly.



They discuss evidence, the need to look closely and not be mistaken by what you see. He shows her how to look for the evidence living things leave behind.

Darwin might be modeling how to think scientifically, but at the same time, Etta has a few things to teach him.

Lauren Soly shows us such tenderness in this authentic relationship between father and daughter. Darwin did dote on his children, and this book is chock full of the loveliness of it.

Soloy's art is created through ink, pain and collage. Lush gardens are the backdrop for graphic novel characters conversing with each other in speech bubbles.

I appreciated the note at the end with additional information about Darwin and Etty.

[April Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really sweet story. Charles Darwin liked to think while walking, so he created a long oval track of sand in his gardens he called the Sandwalk. Twice a day, he would walk in circles around it and think, and sometimes his daughter Etty would join him. This story imagines one such walk, as Etty asks her father if he believes in fairies. He doesn't say no, he explains that he's never seen proof of their existence, and he prefers to have some proof before he believes in things. As they walk, they discuss the clues one can find in nature by observing things carefully, and he points out several things to her, including some butterflies that are very good at hiding in trees by looking like leaves. She suggests that he can't prove fairies don't exist either, and he can't disagree with that. It's an interesting discussion they have, and they each learned something from it, but in the end, the important thing is a father listening to his child and not dismissing what they say, but actually listening and taking them seriously, and that's a lovely thing.
The author includes a note at the end about Darwin's life and work, and the role Etty would play in his work once she grew up, which was very interesting, I never knew about that. The art is lush and lovely, and suits the story very well. This one's a keeper!

#NetGalley

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

profile of an incident with the daughter of Charles Darwin, this story travels back more than a hundred years and invites readers to share their walk on the OVAL THINKING PATH that Darwin developed on his property. ETTY DARWIN and the FOUR PEBBLE PROBLEM is written and illustrated by Lauren Soloy. With earth-toned illustrations and a spotlight firmly fixed on young Etty, they tavel the thinking path to consider various questions. Among them is Etty's question about fairies. It's no surprise that Darwin, always a scientist, expects proof, while Etty wonders if the burden of proof should be on disproving their existence.

This lovely father -daughter exchange and inquiry offers entertainment and enjoyment, In addition, it is a subtle feast for the eyes, suggesting appreciation for the many ways in which Darwin used observation to build his theories and draw his conclusions. Etty's attention, intellectual debate, and appreciation for her/their relative roles within the larger lives of planet Earth model an inquiry approach to learning. A short author note in back extends the experience by describing the roles Etty assumed as an adult who worked closely with her father in his writing and scientific studies, even though that was a rarity for women in the mid-19th century.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The curiosity of children can be a wonderful and frustrating thing. They think of the darnedest questions! Such is the case when Henrietta Darwin takes a walk with her famous father Charles. Along the way, we get a lesson in not just asking questions, but how to ask questions and how to probe for answers. It’s not a deep lesson (this is a book for children, after all) but it’s a start.

It’s also a lesson for adults in how to talk to children without pandering nor dismissing their conversation. The illustrations aren’t so special to my eye—some trees are rendered as indistinct smudges of green, e.g.—but there is an illustration of a fox that’s so shocking it makes up for the lack in other images.

This is an especially sweet look at an inquisitive and smart girl walking in the literal footsteps of her intelligent father. I’d recommend this book for fathers who’d like to bond with their daughters. After all, discovery isn’t limited to seafaring men.

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personally I wanted to like this more and the kids seemed to come to the same conclusion at the end too that it really didn't seem to connect well enough for them. I loved how this book brings out the art of questioning and encourages curiosity as well as scientific thinking, but the story was too abstract and difficult to follow from one set of panels to the next. I think even demonstrating the 4 pebbles at each lap would have been very helpful for creating a rhythm and reminding them what's happening. Or maybe also including a couple overhead shots during the questioning to ground the abstract questioning in reality.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddy is the daughter of Charles Darwin. Her full name is Henrietta, but she prefers to go by Eddy. This book is about how she walks along the sand walk that her father walks, just to think. No one knows exactly what questions, Eddy and her father posed on these rocks, the author poses the question “are fairies real?”. The reader sees how Charles teaches his daughter to have an open mind and the way his daughter teaches her father that not everything is as it seems. Overall, this was a lovely book and unlike many nonfiction books, would be very easy to read at story time.

[Jenny Lussier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Etty Darwin, the famous Charles Darwin’s daughter, has a big imagination. Her father, on the other hand, always needs proof. On their walks they take around The Sandwalk, a track that Charles Darwin created for walking and thinking, the pair discuss and think about all kinds of questions, expanding both of their minds. This book resonates with me because walking has always provided a way for me to clear my head and figure things out, just like the Darwins.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The question after this book was: How do you become a scientist?

Answer: Lots of walking and thinking.

We talked about how it is good sometimes to be a little bored. When we are bored, if we don't turn on a screen, we have time to think. We can think of questions and sometimes we might even think of answers.

It's called the Four Pebble Problem because they use pebbles to keep track of how many times they've wandered around their path, thinking.

[Emilee (emileereadsbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Tundra Books for a free digital copy for my review.

A book about Charles Darwin's daughter and her walks with her father. They were full of questions and pondering and working on having an open mind. I thought this was a lovely book about being curious and a good father daughter relationship.

[Shauna Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the digital advance reading copy of this book.

I love this book! I love the fictional conversation between Charles Darwin and his daughter Etty about the possibility of fairies. I also love that the author provides information about Charles Darwin, his wife Emma, and their family home.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this story we go on a walk with Etty Darwin and her father, Charles Darwin. She has a big imagination and curious mind. This story shows you that it is ok to ask questions.

I liked the watercolor illustration for this book and the bit of history at the end

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to love this, but the text fell short for me. I found it difficult to read aloud the narrative and the dialog on each page with my kiddo. When I read it alone, I did not have this difficulty. Since this is a book that is primarily to be read with a child or read aloud this was a bit of a letdown. I would have liked to see these same illustrations and the topic addressed differently.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book completely captivating. The characters are well-crafted, and their relationship was well developed. Etty is a powerful thinker and the conversation with her father, Charles Darwin, shows kids about scientific thinking. The art style is wonderful...and that full-page spread of the fox took my breath away. I really love this book.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creative non-fiction about the relationship between Charles Darwin and one of his daughters.
It's a conversation about fairies that occurs on a walking path that he used daily for specific thinking time.

We know that she wrote fairy stories, but we don't know that a conversation like this took place.

Interesting thoughts on how to prove something exists or doesn't.

[Ashley Dang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet and thoughtful story! The artwork is charming and the story itself is equally sweet! A perfect read for a cozy day. This is a great read for kids, as it tells them that it’s okay to asks questions, and that being curious is great!

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the style of the illustrations. I also love this sweet story and how it shows a grown up taking a child’s thoughts seriously, asking questions, and allowing for the possibility that as a grown up they may not know everything.

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for anyone that believes in what others ignore. Etty really want fairies to be real, even though her father, Charles Darwin, insists that they do not exist. The two discuss such things during their walk, each trying to look at the world through the eyes of the other.

[Novita · Rating 4 out of 5]

However, you can also create your own thinking path, wherever you happen to be. Walking is a wonderful way to contemplate big questions. You don't have to know the answers--sometimes it's enough to think of the questions.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Darwin tells his daughter he has a hard time believing in anything without proof, which is ironic because there isn't proof in macroevolution. That's why it's called a theory. There is neither proof of evolution nor proof of God. To believe in either, one must have faith.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charles Darwin and his daughter, Henrietta, walk and parse out the possibility of fairies in this lovely, gentle story.

[Sbwisni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoke to my STEM soul, but also touched me as a parent. One of the best STEM books I’ve read. Love, love, loved!

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Etty and her father go for a walk and talk of fairies.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated pictures and a wonderful story about Etty Darwin and her father, Charles.

[Erin]

A loving portrayal of the back-and-forth exchange of ideas between dad and daughter. Dad of course is Charles Darwin, but despite his notoriety he gives his daughter Etty his full attention. They talk about fairies, butterflies, and what kind of evidence indicates proof. It's an interesting window into Darwin's life (accompanied by minimal backmatter), but an even more fascinating look at a parent-child relationship and ways to observe the world around you.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Closer to 3.5 stars.