Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution | Steve Jenkins

Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution | Steve Jenkins | debunking creation

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Life on Earth: The...

	Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution Steve Jenkins Houghton Mifflin, 2002 - 40 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

There are millions of different kinds of plants and animals living on the earth. Many millions more lived here in the past. Where did they all come from? Why have some become extinct and others lived on?

In this remarkable book for children, Steve Jenkins explores the fascinating history of life on earth and the awe-inspiring story of evolution, Charles Darwin's great contribution to modern science.

Great Primer

This book is a very broad survey of life on Earth basics for children new to learning about science, biology, and evolution. It's already proved invaluable in jumpstarting conversations with them about more specific points in evolutionary history (like horse evolution--in the book, there's a brief blurb about the first horses that led into a discussion about "toes" and grasslands and other specifics of their changes over time). My children are also able to make connections to other things that have read, learned, or noticed in other places, too, thanks in large part to the multitude of charming illustrations and varied species to support and flavor broad, boiled-down theoretical points. Fantastic classic picture-book with lots of opportunities for sparking interest, making connections, and explaining (in simple terms) the magnificence of evolutionary theory.

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debunking creation

I bought this book because my 7-year-old has learned to say hi to Jesus when he passes by a church (thanks to grandma). He stopped believing in Mother Nature and I wanted to nip religious fanaticism in the bud. This book worked! It is beautifully illustrated, interesting, and full of cool facts. It furthered our discussions about creation vs. evolution and since my son is a lover of dinosaurs, he is on his way to scientific allegiance. I highly reccommend it to any parent who wants to teach children about the history of the earth and to unteach insipid mythology. *Although I must warn, it has quite a bit of writing and big words for young children.

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great introduction to natural selection

I'm always on the look-out for engaging, informative books on the development of life on earth. My kids and I have actually read quite a few of them. I consider this book one of the better ones for young kids. It does not speak down to kids, nor is it too complicated. The illustrations are Eric Carle-esque with their paper designs and interesting to young ones.

This books begins with first bacteria and progresses through the emergence of human life. However, it does not cover the process of human development at all. It simply says that modern humans appeared on earth 130,000 years ago. I was a little disappointed by this book's lack of detail in the area of human development. If you are looking for a book to introduce human evolution to kids, this one is not for you. If you simply want to introduce Darwinism and the survival of the fittest concept--this book is great.

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Great, with some (minor?) exceptions

As others have said, this book is quite good, with beautiful collages as illustrations. The first half of the book is simple, following Earth's great geologic ages and the major lifeforms therein. The second half is about the process of biological evolution itself, and much wordier (you may have to slow down and explain a bit for the kids here -- evolution is, after all, a complex process).

There are two details I'd like to mention.

First, when describing the rise of the dinosaurs, an error in paleontology: "They live in the sea, on the land, and in the air." This is a popular misconception. There were two main groups of aquatic reptiles during the Mesozoic, neither of them dinosaurian: the plesiosaurs (think "Loch Ness Monster") and the ichthyosaurs (huge fish-shaped "lizards"). There were no flying dinosaurs (unless one counts birds, of course); it was the pterosaurs ("wing lizards") that dominated the skies. Pterosaurs, though, like crocodilians and dinosaurs, WERE part of the larger group Archosauria ("ruling lizards"), and so more closely related to crocs and dinos (and birds) than to any other reptiles.

A second and IMHO a minor point: as another reviewer mentions, this book, when touching upon specifically human evolution, claims that the "ancestors of early humans" (i.e., ancient bipedal hominids) are "descended from apes." Some may argue. I wouldn't -- at least, not on that particular point. Our last common ancestor with the (other) great apes (the rest of family Hominidae) was most surely conservative in body form, and likely strongly resembled our living relatives. (And an aside: to say these hominids were "descended from apes" ... well, they WERE apes, as are modern humans. What else would they be?)

Altogether, though, great for the young (but not the very young), and worth the buy.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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