Complete with an illustrated timeline and glossary, here is the story of human evolution as it's never been told before.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
87 of 95 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A planet where men descended from apes?,
By
This review is from: Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story (Hardcover)
It takes guts to write a picture book. Putting your work out there to speak for you. The criticism of hundreds of thousands of adults just waiting to tear you apart. It takes even more guts to write a non-fiction picture book. Now you have to deal with parents passing over your story for, oh I dunno, "Mr. Peabody's Apples" because they're afraid that they themselves will be bored. Pompous adults like that. And finally, it takes a kind of bravery most humans would be lucky to possess to write a non-fiction picture book that sports the word, "evolution", on its cover. So please take a moment to mentally applaud the gutsy efforts of one Ms. Lisa Westberg Peters and one Ms. Lauren Stringer for their moxie laden little number, "Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story".A delicate rendering of Lascaux acrylics on watercolor paper, the story is one of the oldest ones on earth. Peters begins, "All of us are part of an old, old family. The roots of our family tree reach way back to the beginning of life on earth. We've changed a lot since then". Slowly we learn about DNA and the birth of cells in the seas. We hear about oxygen filling the planet and how the seas rose and fell, changing the landscape. About how animals crawled up onto the land and how after an asteroid our particular branch of the family tree survived. Finally, the monkeys evolved, and we evolved out of the monkeys. The book ends with further details for the inquisitive child about each step of the family tree. A helpful timeline follows these facts at the end. For those human beings that dislike the notion of evolution and prefer a more creation-laden viewpoint, this is not the book for you. It's pretty darn clear in the text that life began 3,800 to 3,600 million years ago. End of story. You will not find a religious note in this book. It's scientifically written and happy to remain that way. Not that the facts presented are full-proof. I may be wrong, but I don't believe the asteroid theory has ever matter-of-factly killed off the dinosaurs as it does here. Also (as more professional reviewers have pointed out) the timeline really does make it look as if it was just a hop, skip, and a jump from single celled organisms to wormlike vertebrates. On the whole, however, this is a good informative text. Children reading it should be a little older, in order to fully grasp exactly what is being said. For them, however, this book serves as an excellent resource. The pictures are lovely and the facts are mostly on the ball. A lovely addition to any children's evolution library.
36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great introduction to the origin of life!,
By
This review is from: Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story (Hardcover)
My 2 1/2 tear-old daughter loves this book! She is facinated by the bright, colorful pictures, and likes to talk about the different animals. This book serves as a starting point for discussions about what makes mammals unique, what makes vertebrates unique, and what's the difference between plants and animals. As a mother who's never given a thought to the notion of religious creation, this book is a wonderful introduction to the important question of the origin of life.
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely book, wonderful topic,
By
This review is from: Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story (Hardcover)
What a magnificent book for children to understand the relatedness of all things, and particularly their own connections to the living world. If we are to fully appreciate our long lineage, our place on our glorious planet, and care for other organisms that share it with us, this book is essential for both parent and child.
Highly recommended!
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