Voyages Through Time: The Beginning [Hardcover]

Peter Ackroyd (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Voyages Through Time

Voyages Through Time: The Beginning traces the story of life on Earth from its cosmic origins to the birth of our Universe. Covering all aspects of the new heavens and a new Earth, the text sparkles, bringing the Hadean Age, the Precambrian world, the Jurassic period, and more to life. Peter Ackroyd's Voyages Through Time will illuminate the world's defining eras of history, from our humble beginnings to the exploration of space, in a fresh, bold narrative that is sure to become a publishing classic.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-Ackroyd traces the history of life on Earth from the big bang to the emergence of Homo sapiens. Chapters are divided to reflect major eons, eras, periods, and epochs within this vast time span. While the author does not shy away from technical terms, the story of evolution is simply and beautifully laid out. The engaging text reflects the most recent research on prehistoric life-many species of dinosaur are depicted with feathers, and illustrations alternate between the traditional camouflage coloring historically thought to characterize dinosaur appearance and the brighter coloration now believed to have been part of mating rituals and other displays. Discussions involving speculation are clearly noted, and Ackroyd often offers alternate theories after stating the most accepted scientific belief. Informative sidebars and captions are succinct yet expand upon a point in the main text. Eye-catching, relevant illustrations bring the prehistoric world to life. Reference pages with extensive time lines follow the body of the book. An excellent glossary and index are included. Unfortunately, the author includes no source notes or a bibliography. Most material on this topic is geared to a younger or academic audience, so this title is still worthy of purchase.
Courtney Lewis, Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School, Kingston, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-8. Dino fanatics who grab this for the menacing T. rex on its cover will come away with a broader view of Earth's prehistory than is normally transmitted by movies like Jurassic Park. Part of the new Voyages through Time series, this careful but lively exploration of life on earth (beginning with the primordial soup and ending with the appearance of Cro-Magnons) contextualizes dinosaurs--and humans--within mind-boggling expanses of time and change. Ackroyd, a two-time winner of the U.K.'s Whitbread Award, belies his roots in the adult literary world with an immense vocabulary and tendency to wax poetic (the "endless night of extinction"), but his yen for metaphor works well when applied to extinct critters; trivia-mongers will relish imagining Pliocene "armadillos as long as limousines." Digitally rendered images of creatures are eye-poppingly realistic, and the cloudier aspects of Ackroyd's narration come clear with the aid of sidebars, helpful time lines, and appendixes. An indispensable resource for budding evolutionary biologists, as well as any earthling looking for a dose of perspective on our place in the universe. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN; 1st edition (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789498367
• ISBN-13: 978-0789498366
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,155,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Children's Books > History > Prehistoric

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A highly stimulating educational resource, November 17, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voyages Through Time: The Beginning (Hardcover)

Peter Ackroyd's The Beginning is an informed and informative nonfiction resource for young adults which superbly organizes and presents our latest scientific understanding of how the Earth was formed, how life evolved, and showcasing an era when humans were at the mercy of the elements and their environment. Brilliant color illustrations and what the latest discoveries in astronomy and paleontology have taught us about the Earth's history fill the pages of this exciting and highly stimulating educational resource. Very highly recommended for school and community library collections, The Beginning is the first title in Peter Ackroyd's new and forthcoming "Voyages Through Time" series from DK Publishing.

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!, April 25, 2011

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between these days - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Voyages Through Time: The Beginning (Hardcover)

Reading through the table of contents of the book I had this sense of familiarity. The first few chapters have been titled and themed in such a way that it bring to mind the creation story found in the Bible. Granted, that's not what this book is about and I don't believe the story of creation found in the pages of Genesis is meant to be taken as literal scientific fact, however, I appreciate the sense of wonder and significance the framing gives to the beginning of time (even though, taken as is, it's not as if the beginning of our universe was lacking in wonder). Still, by borrowing a bit from the structure of the Genesis story, I think Ackroyd gives a bit of familiarity to the history and science he's sharing. Ackroyd weaves together science, a storytellers skill, easy page layout, and fascinating pictures and illustrations for a good overview of the very beginning of our planet to the final emergence of Homo sapiens.