The History of the World in Comics

by Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu, Adrienne Barman (Illustrator)

Never has natural history been so fun! Scientific accuracy and humor combine to tell the entire history of Earth in a comic book format.

A paleontologist and a storyteller take two children through the birth of our planet, the beginning of microbes, and through the heydays of protozoans, dinosaurs, and early mammals with unfailing enthusiasm.

The art accurately portrays animal species and prehistoric landscapes, includes maps and infographics, but also adds humorous touches: a google-eyed prehistoric fish looking startled to be walking on land and the children popping out of a tree top to surprise a Brachiosaurus.

The combined expertise of author Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu, a science writer and biologist, and illustrator Adriene Barman, the creator behind Creaturepedia and Plantopedia , makes for a science read you can trust.

Fans of Maris Wicks's Human Body Theater and Nathan Hale will be pleased.

Genres: Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, Comics, History

80 pages, Hardcover

Published December 1, 2020

About the author

Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu, né le 11 juin 1955, est agrégé de sciences naturelles et docteur en océanologie biologique. Il a publié de nombreux ouvrages de vulgarisation scientifique (Gallimard Jeunesse, Milan, Gulf Stream, Casterman, Plume de Carotte, Xavier Barral). Il est également réalisateur et scénariste de films documentaires.

Reviews

[Kayla Zabcia]

I'm sorry, this art style is so ugly I just couldn't put myself through it beyond the first page. Read Abby Howard's "Earth Before Us" graphic novel series instead.

[Joanna]

*A review copy was provided by courtesy of Holiday House Publishing, Inc.

You think dinosaurs are old? This books takes you to a time before dinosaurs!

It has been a while since this book was sent my way. As someone who never got into dinosaurs or animals as a kid despite seeing all those books in the bookstores, I figured maybe I should read about it now that I’m older. Maybe I’d get to know some cool things through this book. Yeah, I barely made it halfway through the book until I realised that I barely understood a thing.

It’s very rich in knowledge, with accompanying illustrations of aquatic life, land animals, birds, plants and more! It’s definitely not something ever taught, and it feels like you stumbled into one of those “25 sea creatures you’ve never seen before” Buzzfeed posts. Some of them will definitely make you question reality, some of them would make you think “I’m so glad I don’t have to see it,”.

For a children’s book on paleontology, I appreciate the intention on wanting to stay scientifically accurate but the scientific names only blurred together. The art style will definitely appeal to children with it’s bright colours and lively style. To me, I had to rub my eyes and remind myself that these were once real and not fantasy creatures. Can you tell this just isn’t for me? Well, if you’re into fantasy, this book might just be your thing!

I was debating whether to post a review, since I didn’t finish reading it and barely made it halfway through the book. But how could I? Many enjoyed the book, so it is definitely just my personal taste.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

For kids who love graphic novels and the popular SCIENCE COMICS series, this is a fascinating look at the history of the world. Written in comic form, this nonfiction book starts with the earth being born 4.6 billion years ago and marches through history. It visually brings to life the transformation of the planet and in particular the animal life. Kids interested in dinosaurs and animals will find the evolution of animals and the information included fascinating. A well written, thorough look at the world in an appealing format. A nonfiction win for elementary schoolers.

[Annamarie Carlson (she, her)]

Cover the history of Earth from the birth of our solar system through to a glimpse of the future.

I struggled to stay focused while reading this--there is a lot of information in a condescended amount of space, and personally I prefer the tone of Science Comics or History Comics.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Making history and evolution interesting for children can be challenging. Jean-Baptiste de Panafleu and Adrienne Barman meet this challenge. The illustrations and the text make history and evolution entertaining and understandable.

[Audrey Sauble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun overview of geologic an evolutionary history. It does turn into a lot of names jumbled into the middle, but that’s more related to the content than the writing. Plus, there are some fun threads running through the book about the way different groups of animals developed.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Heather]

Rife with errors. Stick to the FirstSecond Science Comics series.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very good. I didn't finish it, but that doesn't reflect the book. It has a great telling of the history of the world in graphic form. Well worth the read.

[Marz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Covers a lot in 70 pages, but I imagine would be hard for most kids to follow. A fun way to get a very general picture of the history of life on Earth.

[Mercedes McLean-Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really helped me see how different animal families are related to each other.

[Mathieu Fortin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hubert a adoré, surtout quand j'avais de la difficulté à lire les mots!