Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution

by Steve Jenkins, Steve Jenkins (Illustrator)

Overview

Millions of plants and animals live on Earth, but why do some species survive while others go extinct? A young readers guide to evolution with full-color cut-paper illustrations.

There are millions of different kinds of plants and animals living on the earth, and millions more have lived here in the past. Where did they all come from? Why have some become extinct and others lived on?

What lived on Earth before us, who is still with us, and what prompts evolutionary change? In this remarkable picture book, Steve Jenkins uses his signature eye-popping art to answer these questions and explore the fascinating history of life on earth and the awe-inspiring story of evolution. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780358108443
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/28/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,108,561
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 11.30(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	880L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Steve Jenkins wrote and illustrated many nonfiction picture books for young readers, including the Caldecott Honor Book What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? His books have been called stunning, eye-popping, inventive, gorgeous, masterful, extraordinary, playful, irresistible, compelling, engaging, accessible, glorious, and informative.

Steve Jenkins wrote and illustrated many nonfiction picture books for young readers, including the Caldecott Honor Book What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? His books have been called stunning, eye-popping, inventive, gorgeous, masterful, extraordinary, playful, irresistible, compelling, engaging, accessible, glorious, and informative.

Editorial Reviews

"Jenkins presents a superb introduction to evolution for younger readers...[His] explainations of science concepts are comprehensive and comprehensible, making good use of his excellent illustrations." Horn Book, Starred

Jenkins’ trademark watercolor cut–paper collages, a large format, and the careful use of both an oversized and small font are definite lures into this handsome exploration of the basics of evolution.
School Library Journal, Starred

Clever, eye–catching, and extremely effective.
Booklist, ALA, Starred Review

Grabbing the audiences attention with stunning cut and torn paper collage illustrations, Jenkins illuminates another corner of the science world in this cogent introduction to evolution.
Publishers Weekly, Starred

“Life on Earth taps into children’s sense of wonder about the world, which is the great starting point for scientific exploration.” The New York Times Book Review

“Intricate paper collages of animals and plants set against fields of clean white illustrate this condensed account of the earth’s history.” Riverbank Review

“Factual and fascinating, this one belongs in every library.” Kirkus Reviews

“Jenkins and page combine two high-interest topics in a format that works at several levels due to the increasing complexity of the text.” Book Links, ALA —

From the Publisher

Grabbing the audience's attention with stunning cut- and torn-paper collage illustrations, Jenkins (The Top of the World) illuminates another corner of the science world in this cogent introduction to evolution. Here, he traces the planet's history from its fiery beginnings billions of years ago through the emergence of the first bacteria, development of such organisms as jellyfish, ferns, dinosaurs, mammals and birds, on up to humans. Posing and answering questions ("Why have so many different forms of life developed on the earth?"), Jenkins ably presents such concepts as mutation, extinction and Darwin's theory of "survival of the fittest." The information spans an impressive range; Jenkins organizes and presents it with a clarity that demonstrates his mindfulness of the audience. Spacious white backdrops allow the vigorously lifelike collage images to spring to the fore. Bright-eyed frogs appear ready to jump off the pages; a shark swims menacingly toward readers; a wooly mammoth looks soft enough to pet. Science at its most inviting. Ages 6-10. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 3-6-Jenkins's trademark watercolor cut-paper collages, a large format, and the careful use of both an oversized and small font are definite lures into this handsome exploration of the basics of evolution. The author has taken on the formidable task of investigating the scientific theories explaining the innumerable branchings, proliferations, and extinctions of life on planet Earth. His lucid text presents a terse chronology of life from its earliest beginnings as one-celled bacteria in the primordial ocean to the appearance of modern man. He then explains how scientists were persuaded that animal/plant classifications and geological/fossil records provided proof that animals and plants had not remained unchanged since a single moment of creation, and discusses how Charles Darwin's investigations in the Gal pagos resulted in his formulation of the theory of evolution. The discussion also includes natural selection, variation and mutation, and how these processes can produce new species and some of the possible causes of extinctions. The final graphic diagram compares Earth's 4 Y billion-year history with a 24-hour day, showing modern man popping into the scene at 11:59:58 p.m. Larger and more eye-catching than Joanna Cole's Evolution (Crowell, 1987; o.p.), and far simpler than Stephen Webster's The Kingfisher Book of Evolution (Kingfisher, 2000), Life on Earth is a polished exposition of a difficult, often controversial scientific concept. Substantial, despite its picture-book appearance.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Jenkins (Animals in Flight, 2001, etc.) makes a first-class foray into an often-neglected topic. He traces life on earth from the single-celled organisms over three-and-a-half billion years ago through trilobites, club mosses, and dinosaurs, past flightless birds, "battering ram beasts," and into the modern age of man. A time line, when set against a 24-hour day, has humans showing up at two minutes to midnight. Then he traces how scientists first learned about the earth's history and formulated the theory of evolution; he shows how species adapt to their environments and how some random mutations can cause animals to be better able to survive. Bright cut- and torn-paper collages illustrate the remarkable diversity of, say, 300,000 species of beetles (18 are shown). The pacing and the picture-to-text ratio seem off in the first few pages, but that's a very minor quibble. Because evolution is sometimes not taught in all schools, few good texts exist on it for this age. Factual and fascinating, this one belongs in every library. (Nonfiction. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews