Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
All of us are part of an old, old family. The roots of our family tree reach back millions of years to the beginning of life on earth. Open this family album and embark on an amazing journey. You'll meet some of our oldest relatives—from both the land and the sea—and discover what we inherited from each of them along the many steps of our wondrous past.
Complete with an illustrated timeline and glossary, here is the story of human evolution as it's never been told before.
Relates the evolution of the family of mankind, from single cells in the sea to human beings with "big brains that wonder who we are."
Synopsis
Complete with an illustrated timeline and glossary, here is the story of human evolution as it's never been told before.
Publishers Weekly
"All of us are part of an old, old family," begins Peters's (Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duck) lyrical, child-friendly book about evolution. Stressing the kinship of humans with all living things, the text identifies each of the species at various stages of evolution not just as "our" relatives but as ourselves ("We didn't have two eyes to blink or ten toes to wiggle. We were just tiny round cells in the deep, dark sea"). Focusing briefly on selected successive stages over millions of years, her descriptions emphasize the "outside" and "inside" of each creature ("On the outside, we were squishy and soft, like worms. On the inside, our cells had many shapes-square like boxes, pointy like stars, round like ripe seeds"). While most of the writing seems keenly attuned to young readers, there is one troublesome exception. The pivotal concept-that all life shares a common ancestor-is introduced as Peters writes that the cells in the deep, dark sea "had the same kind of spiraling genetic code for life we have today"; the idea of a genetic code goes unexplained, even in the endnotes. Stringer's (Scarecrow) warm, inviting acrylics alternate full-bleed vistas with close-ups of each stop on the journey, effectively mirroring the text's outside/inside approach. An arresting image of a fish, for instance, in shades of cobalt and sea green, is flip-flopped on the opposite page as a tawny fossil. An illustrated timeline helps readers place the information in context. All ages. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"Evolution is what has created the living world and what keeps it going. If we do not understand evolution, we will never understand our world. How lucky our children are to have this beautiful and moving guide from which to learn!"—Dr. Ernst Mayr Professor of Zoology, Emeritus, Harvard University
Publishers Weekly
"All of us are part of an old, old family," begins Peters's (Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duck) lyrical, child-friendly book about evolution. Stressing the kinship of humans with all living things, the text identifies each of the species at various stages of evolution not just as "our" relatives but as ourselves ("We didn't have two eyes to blink or ten toes to wiggle. We were just tiny round cells in the deep, dark sea"). Focusing briefly on selected successive stages over millions of years, her descriptions emphasize the "outside" and "inside" of each creature ("On the outside, we were squishy and soft, like worms. On the inside, our cells had many shapes-square like boxes, pointy like stars, round like ripe seeds"). While most of the writing seems keenly attuned to young readers, there is one troublesome exception. The pivotal concept-that all life shares a common ancestor-is introduced as Peters writes that the cells in the deep, dark sea "had the same kind of spiraling genetic code for life we have today"; the idea of a genetic code goes unexplained, even in the endnotes. Stringer's (Scarecrow) warm, inviting acrylics alternate full-bleed vistas with close-ups of each stop on the journey, effectively mirroring the text's outside/inside approach. An arresting image of a fish, for instance, in shades of cobalt and sea green, is flip-flopped on the opposite page as a tawny fossil. An illustrated timeline helps readers place the information in context. All ages. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
This book is an absolute must-own for those who believe in evolution or want to offer a different idea of creation to all young children who ask, "Where do we come from?" The story is beautifully written and is able to take a difficult topic and put it into words that children will enjoy and understand. Page after page offer insight into the subject of evolution and provide explanations for many questions people have on the topic. The illustrations are breathtaking and add much to the power of this book. Just as interesting as the actual story is the Family Tree and the Family Tree Timeline included at the end of the book. Each piece of information is illustrated adding to the clarity of the facts. This is a wonderful book selection for parents to read aloud to their child. The author's choice of words impressed me with her concern that the children who read or hear this story will understand that she wrote it just for them. 2003, Harcourt Inc,— Kathie Josephs