Evolution (Let's Read-And-Find-Out Science)

From Publishers Weekly In another superior entry in the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out science series, two well-respected creators of children's books are paired in a comprehensible and interesting introduction to a difficult theory. Cole's exposition begins with a farmer finding a rock that looks like a bone and a child finding a seashell-shaped stone. "Are they accidents? . . . Could these rocks be the remains of real plants and animals?" With evidence found in rock layers or strata, she describes how one-celled organisms evolved into more complex plants, animals and human beings. Aliki's colorful pencil drawings and charts make the clear narrative even more accessible to youngsters. Ages 5-9. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal Kindergarten-Grade 3 Four billion years is not a concept that the human mind can easily grasp. Yet this is the very time span that encompasses the development of life on earth. Cole has once again succeeded in taking a complex subject and making it comprehensible to beginning readers. She begins with a brief explanation of how fossil discoveries in the 18th and 19th Centuries led to the realization that our planet was much older than had been previously imagined. Through a careful progression, aided immensely by Aliki's colorful illustrations, Cole unfolds the amazing story of the development of life from the simple to the more complex. The carefully-worded text makes it clear that science has many gaps to fill in its understanding of this progression. This is a book that should spark further interest in evolution and related subjects. David N. Pauli, Northern Waters Library Service, Ashland, Wis.Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.