When the Whales Walked: And Other Incredible Evolutionary Journeys by Dougal Dixon

When the Whales Walked: And Other Incredible Evolutionary Journeys Reviews

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  Montzalee Wittmann

  When the Whales Walked And Other Incredible Evolutionary Journeys
  by Dougal Dixon is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. This book has so much information and it is arranged so well! Wonderful illustrations with each but of info, each creature/ animal gets a nice art work and it's own bio! Great charts that makes it easy to follow! This is one of the easiest book on adaptation I have seen for kids in a long time. The illustrations are not only abundant but excellent! The information is rich and helpful! I definitely want to get this for my grandkids!
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  Hilary

  4.5 stars A wonderful book full of information and lovely illustrations. So many interesting facts and really nicely set out into interesting pages. This book looks at prehistoric life and how these creatures have evolved into the ones we have around today. Highly recommended for the small natural historian in your life.
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  Anna

  For such a short book (a little over 60 pages), there is a lot of information neatly lettered and beautifully layered across the pages. The illustrations are beyond gorgeous, incredibly detailed, and the overall design works flawlessly: young and adult readers alike will jump back and forth, from one page to another, through the history of life on Earth, careful not to miss any of its twists and turns. Plus, I’m a huge, huge fan of the scheme of colours and tones the artist Hannah Bailey chose to illustrate this journey.
  
  From a proper timeline of life on Earth to answering more scientific questions, such as “Where do fossils come from?” “What made pterodactyloid such successful fliers?” or childish ones, like “What happened to the legs?” “Why did giant, flightless birds evolve?” or even tricky, but just as important questions: “When is a cat not a cat?”; we’re getting closer to figuring out the equally tricky title of the book. It goes, of course, back 50MYA (there’s a question for this one, too), when whales did not look like the whales we know today.
  
  The part illustrating the evolution of the whales is, perhaps, the most stunning: the “ancient whales” seem to be swimming across the pages, while the captions describe their transformations spanning millions of years.
  
  When the Whales Walked, And Other Incredible Evolutionary Journeys is a beautiful book and one whose intricate details you slowly uncover: it took me a second time reading through it to notice some of the playful things Hannah Bailey had thrown in (Yes! I’m including here the touristy humans!)
  
  It was an equally unexpected surprise for me, as this is the first time since starting to request and review books on here, a couple of months ago, that a publisher has granted me a wish!
  
  *Thanks to NetGalley & QEB Publishing for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. When the Whales Walked RELEASED OCT 16, 2018.*
• 
  Lana

  When the Whales Walked gives you a glimpse of life on our planet hundreds of millions of years ago. This book was informative, well written and beautifully illustrated. I was sharing facts with my husband as I was reading through the book. It discusses not just what animals were like at one time, but explains how the animals evolved through the years.
  Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for this e-copy. My opinions are my own.
  
  www.colecampfireblog.com
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  J

  This was an interesting book to start with when reading the title and it got even better once the cover was opened. At the same time it also turned out to be not quite what I expected.
  
  This book had a nice educational opening that gave the reader an introduction to evolution, the varied timeline of earth, the changes of the planet itself and the evolutionary tree. For those who want to have a less informative and/or lengthy read this could more or less be skipped over but I would at least suggest checking it out before you do.
  
  From there the book broke down for the reader a geologic time frame by giving it to the reader as so many millions of years ago. This small paragraph introduces the reader to what type of change showed up and its importance to life as we know it.
  
  Then the rest of the two-page spread is given to extra paragraphs going into further depth of a chosen subject and sample creatures from that timeframe. The latter includes the name of the animal and its pronunciation as well as how long ago it lived, size and why the creature is important to evolution as we know it.
  
  The information provided is very well given in simple to understand words that aren't too heavily scientific sounding. And even with a pronunciation guide some younger readers may find that adult assistance may be needed in some of their reading.
  
  Another thing that I found enjoyable was the illustrations. Although we may not have a clue what these animals look like the illustrator did an amazingly good job in depicting these creatures in nicely bright colored ways while at the same time keeping their colored scheme rather believable.
  
  As the sample creatures are very few this isn't going to be a complete history for those who are interested in the subject. At the same time dinosaurs are also very little touched upon so again for those fans this may be a hit-or-miss. Instead this would make for a nice book to have around for those who are seeking to explain evolution to a younger audience and how animals from the present or future can be inspired from those of the past.
  
  ***I received a free copy to read of this book in exchange for an honest review.***
  
  
• 
  Goatllama

  Dixon composes an examination of evolution, first laying the foundation of its basic concepts and then portraying a detailed description of the minuscule changes that happened over many millions of years for all manner of organisms. If the intriguing title isn't enough to entice readers, the attractive, detailed art should capture kids' eyes.
  
  However, after initial impressions pass it may be a bit more difficult to progress. The information is solid and the illustrations are nicely detailed, but at times the language and descriptions are a bit dry. The pronunciation guides are a welcome addition, but are typically present only in the profile boxes for the various creatures—occasionally there are words within the body paragraphs that could've used the same treatment. The author's passion for the subject manifests in occasional bursts of excitement, typically with fun comparisons to modern-day examples.
  
  Overall, a solid addition to any collection and a great primer for evolution, even if it drags a little bit at times.
• 
  Laura

  The name of the book makes it sound like it is for a much younger bracket and that it is going to be mostly pictures and short bits.
  
  It is mostly pictures and short bits about each animal, but it is not light, or flippant, and the actual walking whales don't come in until much later in the book.
  
  Even though many of these animals died before humans appeared on the scene, there are some "scale" photos to show how large these animals were in comparison to humans. I feel this might be confusing to younger readers. (And because, in some cases the animals did not die off until the humans came along, so it makes sense to have a human in the picture).
  
  
  
  
  
  So, four stars, but with a large grain of salt for a cool name for a book about evolution, that can be slightly misleading.
  
  Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
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  Kirsten

  Awesome book for young kids about the evolution of life on earth. An excellent follow-up for kids who loved Grandmother Fish when they were younger. I learned a lot from this book, too!
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  Leanne

  Great science book explaining evolution in easy to understand terms for kids. Great little science book, with really cool art.
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  Renee Bowman

  Again, another nonfiction book I wish I had for my own kids!
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  The Silvan Reverie | Sarah Street

  A wonderfully detailed book about evolution for kids, with engaging illustrations and fun facts sprinkled throughout the pages.
  
  The introduction pages are fantastic and do a great job setting the stage and explaining evolution in an age appropriate way. The first pages are titled "What is Evolution?" and there are excellent graphics of a timeline of life on earth as well as maps showing the changing Earth. The progression of narrative in this book is a huge selling point; information is well-organized and easy to follow. Illustrations are fun and interesting; individual species are given little highlight sections throughout the book. After covering evolution as a whole, a special focus is given to whales (hence, the title), but it's important to note that not *only* whales are covered in detail. Elephants, wild cats, primates, and then humans are given a special focus as well.
  
  Again, one of my favorite things about this book is the logical progression and presentation of information. It's interesting and one kids will pick up more than once.
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  Kirsty

  I really like the cover, which intrigued me enough to request this, as did the subject matter. I loved Hannah Bailey's illustrations, and found them a lot more engaging than the text in the book. Regardless, it is both well set out and informative, and I imagine I would have loved this as a child.
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  Vikki

  Quick and enjoyable overview of evolution and how certain animals evolved. The illustrations are gorgeous and bring the animals to life. I would have loved to have had this book as a kid and will definitely be passing it on to any future children in the family.
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  Pamela

  Colourful and informative pages which provide a wealth of information on evolution as well as beautiful illustrations to soak up. At around 60 pages it is a canter through the evolution process but an enjoyable one and will appeal to all ages.
  
  Note - I obtained a copy from Netgalley for review.
• 
  Rebecca Rouillard

  Review to follow in Armadillo's Winter Edition.
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  Eabhnat Ní Laighin

  Gorgeous & fascinating
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  Bethe

  Interesting look at the evolution of life on land, sea, and air. Very browsable, great illustrations, easy pronunciation guides. Dinosaur fans will love it.
• 
  Jessica

  Beautiful and informative.
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  Maggie Panning

  This was an excellent book in our prehistory unit study. Interesting and easy to follow and beautifully put together.
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  Ravenclaw Library Books

  A beautiful book that combines the appeal of a picture book with the education of a non-fiction book.
  Great illustrations and highly recommended.
• 
  Bess Karlsdóttir

  Covid whale readings
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  Jenn

  What a beautiful book. I can't wait to have it actually in my hands, because this is a book to pore over, to examine and go back to again and again. The artwork is amazing and the language is pitched just right for younger children. I'll be recommending this to many parents this Christmas.
  
  
  I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Dawn

  Well written and informative book. The illustrations are GREAT! Thank you NetGalley. I think would make a great addition to a school classroom or library. I wish I had owned it when my older two were growing up. Definitely, want to add it to my home library for my younger children and granddaughter.
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  Jespionage310

  Great, educational, fun book for children. My boys were very interested to learn all about animals. The illustrations were wonderful and the story was captivating. Highly recommended.
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  Rani

  This is a fabulous book with detailed notes, inspiring drawings and a great voice. A whole range of animal, groups in their evolutionary journey have are presented in an interesting manner. Scientific vocabulary is also broken down and presented to the readers. Highly recommended for Middle school-High school readers.
  #WhenTheWhalesWalked #NetGalley