| Title | : | What Darwin Saw: The Journey That Changed the World |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1426303963 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781426303968 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 48 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2009 |
What Darwin Saw: The Journey That Changed the World Reviews
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This book, I have decided is not a great read aloud book because it has several pictures, sections of text and bubbles of text on each page. Still, it added some details to "One Beetle Too Many" which also received five stars from me. I have encouraged my kids to pick it up and read it. One of my favorite things about this book is that there are sections of Darwin's actual writing about each place he visited. The author mentions in her note that Darwin was a natural storyteller. It's true. The parts of the book that are quotes of his diaries, letters etc. are well written and interesting!
Darwin collected data, considered it, performed studies to answer more questions (I hadn't realized he performed experiments!), consulted with respected scientists and studied some more. He was afraid to offer his findings to the public because of the uproar it might create. Finally, with pressure from Wallace who had come up with the same ideas, but without the data to support it, Darwin published his work in November of 1859. There were people who supported his ideas and people who were shocked and furious. To this day books on the subject of evolution get dichotomous reviews. There are people who love it and people who hate it!
This book seems to have been exceptionally well researched and includes and excellent bibliography! -
This is a wonderful biography of
Charles Darwin, describing his famous adventure on the HMS Beagle and the diary entries and notes he took along the way that informed his famous book,
On the Origin of Species.
The book is written using a graphic novel format, but in a picture book, which allowed the author to include a lot of detail along with many, many pictures.
The details are very engaging and although it takes a bit of time to read all of the information, I never found it to be boring.
I thought it was very interesting that the images in the book contain a mixture of cartoonish animals and people along with some very realistic depictions, too.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed reading this book and I have to admit that I learned more about Mr. Darwin's life and studies from this book that I ever did in class. -
I know, I know. It looks like a comic book. It sounds like a comic book.
It's not a comic book.
Or, at least, it's not your grandfather's comic book. So to speak.
What Darwin Saw is the story of Darwin's voyage on the Beagle, a trip that changed the way people saw the world. It looks like a comic book. It sounds like a comic book.
But this is no Superman here. The text enclosed in little speech balloons comes from primary sources, often. This is the textbook comic book. Or a comic book textbook. Something like that.
A sample: A view of the Amazon, with monkeys and parrots and frogs hanging from trees, alligators swimming close to Darwin's rowboat, and in the speech balloons coming from Darwin's mouth: "Among the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, none exceed in sublimity the primeval forests, undefaced by the hand of man." Huh? I am imagining the reaction of a fifth grader.
The pictures tell the story, or help tell the story. All the complex ideas are made clearer with the pictures in this book.
The book concludes with an author's note explaining the making of the book and a bibliography. -
An excellent introduction to Darwin and his infamous journey, published just in time for his 200th birthday.
After he returned from his five-year trip around the world on the Beagle, Darwin spent the rest of his life trying to solve the mystery of "the True History of Life on Earth," which eventually led him to his theory of natural selection and Origin of the Species. What Darwin Saw is a kids book, but I will recommend this to my grown-up friends as well. Finally, I understand what he learned on that trip, and why it was so important to science.
In 2009, we shouldn't even be having to debate evolution as he and his supporters had to in 1860. But, amazingly, there are more than a few people who still think life began with Adam and Eve 6,000 years ago. There are actually creation scientists (!) working for the Creation Museum (and fun park) in Kentucky, arguing for a young earth.
Next time I hear anyone make that case, I'm going to chuck them this book. It probably still won't be enough to convince them, but at least I will have done something.
"From so simple a beginning, endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." Indeed. -
OK, so Darwin, the graphic novel. Really, what's not to like? The author carefully weaves in Darwin's journal entries with pictures of his explorations that make some of his journeys "come alive". I really enjoyed the author's discussion of how Darwin came to his theories; because it's in pictures and how it's broken down, I think it will leave a lasting impression on kids who pick it up.
True enough, there may be some historical glitches in the book. I don't know enough about Darwin or the journey of the Beagle to say what they are--but I'm sure there are some. However, this book does an excellent job of making Darwin (and biology) seem real and accessible (my word of the the day). -
This book is amazing!! The pictures are outstanding, and the story is wonderfully written, with a lot of Darwin's actual words!
This book is almost in a comic format (almost)...and works best if a child is sitting right next to you, looking at the pictures as you point to the picture you're reading about (or read to themselves.)...vs reading and showing.
My kids and I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was so fascinating learning how Darwin travelled all over the world and what he observed....leading eventually to his theory of evolution. Fascinating stuff! Great way to learn science and history, through fantastic books like this! -
This book really deserves 4 1/2 stars; really well-done, thoroughly researched, and a lot of fun to read. I guess it is a bit of a stretch to refer to it as a graphic novel, but on the picture book-graphic novel continuum (which I obviously just made up) it veers just a bit towards the graphic novel side of things. Out of all the kids' books about Charles Darwin released this year, this is the best.
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Who was Charles Darwin? You really want to know! Follow Darwin's famous adventures and discoveries, including giant bones and lizards, glaciers and coral reefs, rain forests, and erupting volcanoes. See how this man's life, filled with so many amazing discoveries, big questions, close-calls and controversies, has had such an affect on all our lives. Entertaining illustrations, charts, and cartoon bubbles will keep your eyes glued to the pages!
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Rather than tell his adventures in a classic story form, this book takes each of Darwin's discoveries and illustrates them pictorially. So a page is divided into sections with text that pertains to each of the amazing things that Darwin observed on his voyage of discovery. There were gigantic skeletons of prehistoric creatures, volcanic eruptions, painted natives, and other amazing adventures.
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This is a well done picture book biography that chronicles the journey of Charles Darwin on the HMS Beagle and his numerous books and scientific breakthroughs that resulted from that four year travel. A nice introduction for elementary age students to Darwin and his theories that forever changed science.
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Illustrations are graphic novel-like and really show a lot of action and information. The text is primarily directly from Darwin, which is fascinating, but may be a bit difficult for children to understand.
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This was a fabulous book! The pictures are so lifelike, so colorful. The text is very playful and lighthearted. This is a great way to introduce Charles Darwin and his great discoveries to kids (and adults!) of all ages. I was very impressed. This one is a keeper!
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I enjoyed this book. It has the style somewhat of a comic book layout which may be enticing to otherwise reluctant readers, however, it is full of Darwin's adventures as he explored the world in search of new discoveries.
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This book is a feast for the eyes and inquiring minds. The illustrations are full of life and detail, and it is a great introduction to the excitement of this Naturalist and the new worlds opening up for him.
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My children and I really enjoyed reading this together. The pictures are colourful and attractive. The narrative is easy to follow for primary-aged children and there are plenty of informative details. What a gem! A great book for anyone wanting to introduce Darwin and his theories to children.
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E
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A wonderfully illustrated graphic novel-type book, better suited for self-exploration by established readers (ages 8 and up) than reading aloud.
