Darwin

Darwin is a great telling of scientist and naturalist Charles Darwin's life. This picture book has a decent length that is enough to tell the important bits of the scientist's journey across the world. Its illustrations are simple in design but paired with the text fits in nicely. The stand out from this story and other Darwin biographies is the collection of letters and quotes implemented. These include Charles' own writings and those of his friends and family throughout his life. These letters thoughtfully placed on the pages helps the reader get a glimpse of what was happening in that moment to the people in Charles' world. Adding another layer to the story is the inclusion of his religious belief and how they conflict and coincide show more with the scientist in Charles. show less

While this picture book biography does an excellent job of detailing Charles Darwin's life and his discoveries, I think I was most impressed by how Darwin pursued his passion despite the wishes of his father and in opposition to his religious teachings and the conventional thinking of the day. His story teaches children to do what they love, to pursue their dreams with hard work and dedication.

Darwin is a great introduction to evolution through the biography of the father of evolution - Charles Darwin. This would be a great way to get students interested in the world of biology because it shows them that science isn't just from dusty tomes, but also comes from just exploring the world around you with a critical eye. I loved the colorful pictures and the letter/journal excerpts from Darwin himself. I felt they really added to the authenticity of the story. What stood out to me most, though, wasn't just the facts presented, but also how Darwin pursued his passion despite opposing forces in his life. I think this is a great way to teach children to do what they love and to get good at it because, in the end, it'll pay off.

This biography about Darwin actually captures his qualities and is less so involved with the status of his discoveries. Obviously tracing through his research and coming up with the theory of evolution was incredible, but this book captured the guy behind the theory. We hear about his early research, where Darwin was really more struck with awe for the world rather than attempting to create vast scientific theory. I also think the relationship that this book places between Darwin and God is quite honest. I've taken classes on Darwin previously and it surprises many that he never felt comfortable with the theories that he produced. He really preferred the creation model. I think this book should be paired with adequate readings or show more lessons to understand that even though it states that "more and more people, though, have found that their religious beliefs and Darwin's discoveries can exist side by side", that Darwin is correct about evolution and natural selection. It seems like there are some mentionings of God in this book that could make Darin's discoveries seem like thoughts rather than scientific theory. BUT as I said before, I do support McGinty's honesty about Darwin's religious feelings and not coving them up to convince children to set aside faith for science. show less

Charles Darwin was a collector of all things in nature which included bugs, rocks, skeletal remains of animals, and shells. This behavior was heavily looked down upon by his very strict father, a widowed English doctor. Charles father gave his son every opportunity to be successful by sending and paying for him to go medical school and when Charles dropped out due to boredom his father then sent him to Cambridge University to become a pastor. Instead of studying, Charles collected insects he found on the countryside and skipped his religious studies to sneak into botany lectures. After begrudgingly graduating from Cambridge, Charles traveled the world on the HMS Beagle. The most notable stop on his voyage was in the Galapagos Islands show more where Charles believed that he discovered several new kinds of birds, but in fact, was just variations of the finch bird. Charles felt distraught over this and asked himself, “had all of these birds been around since the world began? Or had the finches come from the same ancestors and changed?” Charles struggled with his faith in God and his discoveries. How could he go against the word of God? Eventually, Charles wrote The Origin of the Species and feared for the worst. Eventually, more members of the science community accepted his theory of evolution, and it is clearly accepted today. What I found most interesting about this picture book is that it portrays Charles in a different light than I, perhaps many people, had never seen before. My misconception was that Charles Darwin was an atheist who went against God, but after reading this picture book, my understanding is that Darwin was able to believe both God and in science. Overall, I found the book to be very intriguing and definitely think my students will enjoy this reading. show less

My first thought while reading this book was that it would be a fantastic book to read aloud to a classroom of second and third graders. It is a little long though so the time constraint would have to be considered. The illustrations are very well done, adding so much to the story and would peak the interested of the children. With the addition of Darwin's own letters it creates an opportunity to change your tone into a deep voice as you read his words to amuse the children. The incident about Darwin almost not being allowed to go on the ship with Captain FitzRoy because of the shape of his nose would really tickle the children if you dramatize the words while reading. I found this book both informative and surprisingly amusing.

This picture book biography of Charles Darwin is a great introduction to the man for grade-schoolers. It gives an overview of his life and studies and includes quotes from some of his letters and notebooks. Woodcut illustrations are painted with watercolors.