The Mystery of Life: How Nothing Became Everything

by Jan Paul Schutten, Laura Watkinson (Translator), Floor Rieder (Illustrator)

Overview

How did nonliving atoms evolve into modern people? Find out in this engaging illustrated exploration of how nothing became everything.

The science of evolution is a topic of utmost importance, especially as the focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education continues to increase. Fortunately, important doesn’t have to mean boring. From explaining how scientists discovered how life began on earth to speculating about whether space aliens are carnivores, this engaging investigation of all things evolution is infused with fun as well as facts.

Coupled with gorgeous illustrations, curious minds yound and old will discover how to build a planet, the truth about DNA, whether trees really want to be tall, how to survive without a butt, and much, much more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781582705255
Publisher:	Aladdin/Beyond Words
Publication date:	09/01/2015
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	830L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Jan Paul Schutten has been writing children's nonfiction books since 2003. A native of The Netherlands, his books are popular and critically acclaimed; he has won several awards including the Gouden Griffel (Golden Stylus) for his book Children of Amsterdam.

Read an Excerpt

The Mystery of Life




Let’s just take a moment to applaud the slipper animalcule! Who? What? The slipper animalcule, also known as the paramecium, is a tiny creature that’s smaller than the dot on this i. But why should we celebrate it? What’s so special about it? This tiny little thing deserves a huge round of applause simply for being alive. That’s more of an achievement than you might think! And I’m going to tell you why.

Danish professor Henrik Schärfe has created a robot version1 of himself. When the professor and his robot are together, people have to look twice to tell which one is the person and which one is the machine. The robot can’t do very much at the moment. It can move a bit, but what it does best is look like its creator. It can’t do anything else. Not even talk. But I’ll eat a whole sack full of rabbit food if someone, at some point in the future, doesn’t design a robot that looks just like a person, that can give intelligent answers to your questions, and that can even play soccer with you. In fact, I think we’ll be smart enough to build one within 30 years. But making a slipper animalcule? That task is thousands of times trickier.



The tiny paramecium can’t do very much. It can swim a bit, doing the breaststroke with its minuscule hairs. It can drink dirty ditchwater and munch on the bacteria that are in the water. It can pee the water back out again. Well, it’s more like sweating than peeing. It can mate with another slipper animalcule. It can divide itself in two so that there are suddenly two slipper animalcules instead of one. What else can it do? Um . . . almost nothing at all.

The slipper animalcule might be capable of doing less than Professor Schärfe’s robot, but it can do one thing that a machine will never be able to: it can die. Of course, a robot can break, but that’s different. We can often repair something that’s broken, but we can never bring something back to life after it’s died. Life is very special, even though quintillions of creatures have already lived on Earth.

Editorial Reviews

07/13/2015
“For millions of years, this planet has been teeming with life, all of which is made up of... lifeless atoms. That’s a marvel, isn’t it?” In a book originally published in the Netherlands, Schutten looks into the miracle of life, whether the specimen in question is a microscopic bacterium or an invented sample human, “Joe Schmo from Buffalo,” exploring the age of the planet, natural selection, and the development of life on Earth along the way. Rieder’s illustrations, seen in b&w by PW, echo the playful tone that Schutten often adopts (“Were Our Ancestors Slime Balls?” and “What’s So Great About Our Eyes?” represent typical question-driven section headers). It’s an offbeat but informative guide to life that introduces as many questions as it answers. Ages 10–14. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

06/01/2015
Gr 5 Up—How old is the Earth, and how was it formed? How did nonliving atoms evolve into single cell organisms and then into the plethora of species that inhabit the Earth today? How did scientists discover the answers to these questions, and how can they provide proof for their theories? Schutten responds to these queries and countless others as he explains the scientific discoveries that led, over time, to the development of theories such as the big bang and evolution. Taking a big picture approach, he puts all the pieces of the puzzle that comprise our complex world into one accessible, entertaining title, using just the right mixture of fun facts, scientific information, and age-appropriate language. Schutten divides his chapters up into subsections that ask specific questions ("What Are Seashells Doing on Top of a Mountain?") and incorporates complex ideas in his responses. He also peppers his text with interesting tidbits of information. For example, we get goose bumps because our ancestors had fur—which, when it stood on end, provided warmth. Schutten is an award-winning author who argues vehemently for evolution but doesn't exclude those who believe in God and creationism; he encourages his readers to think for themselves. Interspersed liberally throughout the text are clear, rather playful illustrations, which add to the lighthearted and humorous tone. VERDICT A great choice for libraries looking to bolster their STEM collection.—Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY

School Library Journal

2015-04-29
A lighthearted view of the universe's progress, from the Big Bang to the evolution of bacteria, bonobos—and "Joe Schmo from Buffalo." Returning continually to Mr. Schmo ("Jos Grootjes uit Driel" in the original Dutch) as his exemplar for Homo sapiens, Schutten starts simple—"Yes, even Lady Gaga is made up of atoms"—and proceeds from there. He explains how nonliving components combined to create living things of increasing complexity through evolution: "the greatest scientific idea of all time." Defining "life" (arguably) as anything that eats, reproduces, and dies, he offers thoughts on selected biological structures and processes from genetics ("Your genes are actually the boss of you") to how eyes developed and why it's such a good idea to have some separation between mouth and butt. Declaring himself an agnostic, he also takes swipes at both intelligent design arguments and creationism. Though his discussion of hiccups is blurred by fuzzy logic, and viruses and extinction events rate barely a mention, his overall account of life's origins and tenure is as rich in detail as it is entertaining. Rieder likewise supplies a flood of line drawings that provide humorous visual commentary as well as additional information.A glib and occasionally spotty picture but eminently readable and generally on target. (end references, index) (Nonfiction. 11-13)

Kirkus Reviews