Customer Reviews

From Lava to Life: The Universe Tells Our Earth's Story (Sharing Nature With Children Book)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a scientist who works on early evolution I was looking for a book for my 7 year old cousin who is fascinated by science that would counterbalance the creationism he is getting in Sunday school. I purchased this book after reading reviews but was skeptical that it would be accurate. I was beyond thrilled while reading through it! Jennifer Morgan does an excellent job of taking the origin of life, evolution of eukaryotes, prokaryotes and metazoans, the oxygen crisis, migration from sea to land and mass extinctions and making it understandable to children (and lay adults!)
I found no true errors in the science, only things that I wish were expanded on such as calling the "mounds of bacteria" what they are, stromatolites (though I may be biased as I work on these and other similar structures!)
Evolution is never mentioned by name though she does a wonderful job of saying that certain animals are "your ancestors" and, for example, how dinosaurs evolved into what are ancestors to modern birds.
I honestly believe that not only should every child be reading this book and that it would be an excellent addition to grade school science curriculum, but that every adult in the United States should read this as well. I had several adult friends and family members read it and they said they finally understood certain concepts that I work on and have tried to explain to them in the past. One friend actually said "oh so that is the difference between a eukaryote and a prokaryote!" I'm going to purchase a second copy to keep for myself to help explain the origins of life and early evolution to others.
I look forward to purchasing the other two books in this series and highly recommend this book to anyone.

Told as if the Universe has patted her lap & invited to you up for grand story, she takes you back into a time before time, when the Earth was formed, long, long before you or I were motes in the storm. Long before dinosaurs were born & flowers grew.

Told in a confidential, amusing & lyrical turn of phrase, FROM LAVA TO LIFE spills the beans on how life began here from microscopic cells in a churning brew of chemicals as our raw orb rolled around the heavens.

Fascinating images! Dana Lynn Andersen captures our imagination with her broad strokes of things bigger & smaller than one pair of eyes can see. Jennifer Morgan's sense of humor is both reverential & irreverent, charming & instructive.

If you are stumped when your kids ask the oldest of questions: "Where did I come from?" Then FROM LAVA TO LIFE & its prequel BORN WITH A BANG are for you!

From Lava To Life: The Universe Tells Our Earth Story by storyteller, educator, and environmental advocate Jennifer Morgan is the second volume in an amazing summary series for readers ages 8 through 12 of what science can tell us about how the Earth came to be, and how life arose upon and in it. Vividly illustrated in striking color by Dana Lynne Andersen, From Lava To Life is a most fascinating introduction to science for young readers, beginning with the formation of the earth and concluding with the age of the dinosaur. From Lava To Life is also available in hardcover. Also very highly recommended for young readers is the first volume covering the birth the universe and the development of the solar system, Born With A Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story: Book 1.

I bought this book as it was recommended in my teacher's manual for fourth grade science. Having the "universe" making decisions and thinking smacks of intelligent design and undermines the basic theories of evolution and natural selection that we are preparing our students to understand in the upper grades. I will not use this book in my classroom.

After reading this book, my five-year-old grandson brought me a picture he had drawn of a eukaryote with a twisted DNA helix and mitochondria. I promptly order its sequel. I even reread the book on my own to help my understanding of the terminology of early evolution.

i was a little unsure about getting a book that made the universe a consciousness being. but i have to say that the way in which this book, and the first in the series, are written is very easy to read, and very easy to understand. some books in this genre are harder to read, because they are more like text books with words. this book flows smoothly, and reads like a story book, and keeps my daughters interest the whole way through. my daughter is always asking me to "read the universe story" and "read the lava book!" i have not purchased the 3rd in the series, but after reading the first 2, i will definitely be purchasing this author's take on evolution!

While the science in this book may be sound, the way it is presented made me decide not to show it to my 9 year old daughter for whom I had purchased it. I didn't know that I ought to take the sub-title seriously. "The Universe Tells Our Earth Story" means that the authorial voice is actually that of the universe (ie, God). Here's a sample from page 7: "Earth was one of my most imaginative young planets. Her dreams were packed with worms and wolves, daffodils and dinos, raccoons and baboons, peach trees and palm trees, caves and castles. Would Earth become all those things in her dreams? I wondered too..." Her "dreams"? The author anthropomorphizes the universe and earth, assigning earth a female gender and imagining "her" to have dreams. That's science? And when the author writes "How i loved your special planet." she gives a personality to the universe that implies intention and design. "Intelligent Design" is the latest branding for religious dogma masked as science; this book, perhaps inadvertently, supports that point of view. From the reviews I read that lead me to purchase the book, I got the impression that the author would present the story of earths evolution based purely on science, rather than imposing a creation myth. It's disappointing that she muddies her science with gratuitous poetic license. I prefer my science straight.

As with the first book in this series, Born With a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story (Sharing Nature With Children Book), the scientific information in this book is accurate, the level of detail is just right for elementary schoolers, the graphics are vivid and engaging, and the narrative speaks in an effective personal voice.

Most importantly, my daughter really loves this book (about as much as Born With a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story (Sharing Nature With Children Book)), as evidenced by her unusually focused attentiveness to the text and her vivid recollection of the graphics. In short, this book was written specifically to engage and teach kids, and it works.

Highly recommended to any parent wishing to introduce their child to the basics of the evolutionary history of life up to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

This book manages to tell the story of the earth interesting for kids. The topic is hard even for adults and yet the book succesfully achieves to be interesting. My five year old can keep his attention on the book (I can read the book in one go). Pictures are interesting and the timeline tracker is useful. My son likes to tell the story to his nanny using the timeline tracker and the pictures. The author has two more science books for kids, which I would also recommend.

As an Agnostic in the Midwest, answering a child's questions about how things came to be can often be difficult if you are trying to avoid them being ostracized at a very young age. This book helps answer many of those questions in a way that is not likely to promote her being ridiculed, and my 4-year-old daughter LOVES it. It is easy for her to understand as I read it and she is full of wonderful insight and questions. She is enthralled with science and I believe this book's telling of our universe's story will give her a head start on free thinking as she grows and develops. And she absolutely loves the artwork and being able to identify different parts of the illustrations. I would definitely recommend this book!