LoveReading4Kids Says
With award-winning Arbuthnott and Nielsen as the creators, my expectations were high for this book. Happily, this journey through the origins of life on earth is as informative, entertaining, and beautifully presented as I hoped.
Starting with creation myths from different cultures and religions, and then different historical suggestions on the likely age of the Earth, the creation of Earth itself is fascinatingly covered. From there the book starts to look at the origins of life on Earth, discussing the fact that for centuries scientists believed that many species spontaneously reproduced. As these massive and expected subjects are explained, snippets of interesting and unexpected facts are included, these never fail to spark delight. For example, I loved discovering that at one point some scientists argued that libraries shouldn’t be built facing south or west as winds from those directions generated bookworms!
Fossils soon become our focus, as we learn about the different types, where they’re found, and how they help us understand the behaviour and lives of prehistoric creatures. Moving us perfectly to the eternally popular subject of dinosaurs. A double-page spread of famous dino detectives is particularly interesting. The friends-to-enemies story of Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope certainly demands further investigation.
Other sections that are equally fascinating cover the five extinction events Earth has faced, Darwin, and, finally, the age of humans and how we continue to evolve.
Throughout the book, colourful illustrations and inventive page layouts break up the text, add interest and help to explain different concepts. The illustration styles used are varied but consistently fit the historical subject matter, often giving a field guide feel to the book. In other places, comic strip pages are used to illustrate key events, such as the crash landing of the asteroid that is presumed to have caused the dinosaur extinction.
This is a wonderfully readable, fascinating, and beautifully produced book, perfect for curious minds.
Amy McKay
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From Cells to Ourselves The Story of Evolution Synopsis
From the Big Bang to the abundance of life that surrounds us today, this beautiful book - the third by the award-winning duo Gill Arbuthnott and Chris Nielsen - is the story of evolution, from the very first cells to ourselves.
How old exactly is the Earth? How do we know what was here before us? Are we still evolving? From Cells to Ourselves is the story of the beginnings of life around 3.8 billion years ago, to the millions of species alive today, including humans.
Learn about mythology giants who formed the Earth, analyse fossils, walk with the dinosaurs, join Charles Darwin on his exploration of the Galápagos islands and marvel at some of the random and bizarre acts that have shaped our world in this beautifully illustrated book.
Created by the author and illustrator duo of the award-winning Balloon to the Moon.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781800781368 |
| Publication date: |
15th February 2024 |
| Author: |
Gill Arbuthnott |
| Illustrator: |
Chris Nielsen |
| Publisher: |
Big Picture Press an imprint of Templar Publishing |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
80 pages |
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About Gill Arbuthnott
Gill Arbuthnott lives in Edinburgh and has been a published author since 2003. She writes fiction and non-fiction and reckons that being a children's author is probably the best job in the world. Her recent books Dark Spell, Beneath and What Makes You You? have been shortlisted for major UK book awards. A former science teacher, she loves mixing scientific fact with wonderful anecdotes of people and places.
GILL ARBUTHNOTT Q&A:
What is the maddest thing you have ever done?
Nothing very mad… I went once to buy a black kitten and came back with a deaf, one-eyed white adult cat. (It wasn’t my fault though: he chose me.) Oh, and there was the time at the fun fair when I went on a roller coaster even though I knew I hated them. It felt like the longest two minutes of my life.
Which of the mad scientists would you have liked to meet and why?
Rita Levi-Montalcini. Not only did she do important work under very difficult conditions, she lived through amazing times. She alsohad great style in the way she dressed and looked, and she was a fabulous cook. What a woman!
Which discovery would you have liked to have made?
I’d love to have been part of the discovery of the structure of DNA (the chemical that controls most of what we are). It’s so beautiful, and it unlocked so many ideas in Biology. AND I would have to go to work with some incredible people. Maybe I’ll tell you about them in another book!
What do you think is the best discovery made by a scientist?
It’s not an important discovery, but it has made a lot of people very happy… The discovery of how to make chocolate so that it starts to melt at the temperature of the human mouth!
More About Gill Arbuthnott
