This book has three fascinating elements: a biographical account of Charles Darwin’s life as text, about two dozen primary source quotations from Darwin’s writings, and a series of woodblock prints by Caldecott Medalist Mary Azarian.

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 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. ( )

This biography is about Charles Darwin. He is significant for discovering evolution. I didn't know that Charles Darwin went to Cambridge University in order to become a pastor. I had no idea that Charles Darwin even believed in God. I was also unaware that so much of his research had to do with geology and fossils. Eventually Darwin discovered that species do in fact change over time. I also learned about how he was worried that his discoveries would be seen as speaking out against the church and how he suffered from medical issues that doctors couldn't explain. The greatest part about how this book is organized is the way it gives you sections from Darwin's journal and pairs it with the writing of Alice B. McGinty and the illustrations of Mary Azarian. This is another wonderful example of blending primary and secondary sources to enrich the contextual meaning for the reader. This book was very informational and loaded with many of the obstacles and accomplishments that Darwin experienced in his life. This is a great book for introducing the concept of evolution to children. ( )

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 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. ( )

I read a book about Charles Darwin. I learned that Charles at one point in his life was studying to become a pastor. Some interesting facts about Charles is he waited over 20 years to publish his theory of evolution. He dropped out of med school because he thought it was dull. He was very sick after his journey, and no one knew why. Charles and his wife had ten children. He came up with the term evolution, and people to this day till talk about weather or not evolution is true. The details in this story were accurate. The author wrote this story in chronological order. ( )