Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle

by Ruth Ashby, Suzanne Duranceau (Illustrator)

In 1831, young adventurer and nature enthusiast Charles Darwin set sail on a remarkable five-year voyage that changed the study of biology forever.
Award-winning author Ruth Ashby shares the story of Darwin’s famous journey aboard the British navy ship, the Beagle, which led to the development of his theories of evolution and natural selection.
This lively account follows the naturalist’s exciting trip around the world―through seasickness, a life-threatening illness, and even an earthquake―as he explores South America, the Cape Verde Islands, Tahiti, and the Galapagos Islands. During his travels, Darwin meets indigenous peoples and carefully collects and catalogs plants, fossils, birds, mammals, and insects. Darwin’s observations of the distribution and diversity of plant and animal life ultimately leads to the development of his theories on evolution.
Readers will be inspired by Darwin’s transformation from talented but mediocre schoolboy into a remarkable scientist as they read about the revolutionary voyage that forever changed the world of biology.

Genres: Middle Grade, Nonfiction, Childrens

128 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2009

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a few months my book group will be reading a book about Charles Darwin and his wife. My knowledge about Darwin is very general with just the information I've picked up over my lifetime. I wanted to know more about Darwin, in preparation for that book, but I did not want to read a full book and I wanted more than a Wikipedia article. So, instead, I found a children's book to give me the background Information.

Young Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle was a good choice. Author Ruth Ashby briefly recounts Darwin's early years, focuses on the 5 years he spent as a naturalist on the Beagle's around the world voyage, then explains how he shared and used what he learned. She ends by putting Darwin's theories in context of the time and the fame that followed.

This book does not include the author's sources, but does have a bibliography for further reading

I liked her writing and the layout of the book which was aimed at 4th to 7th graders. It is unfortunate that adult readers usually do not think to chose to children's books when they are looking for basic information. This book satisfied my need for basic background on Darwin.

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure who this is intended for, it's dull for middle elementary readers and seems conceptually oversimplified for middle school readers who could handle the more complex situations.

[Linnea Hendrickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book did a good job of getting a lot of information on Darwin's early life into a fairly compact, readable book. The book didn't excite me, but didn't bore me, either. I learned some things I didn't know or hadn't remembered from other Darwin books I've read. I wish there had been a map of Darwin's journeys within South America, and pictures within to break up the text would have helped. The back-matter was excellent, and I rather liked the small size of the book and the golden Victorian endpapers. Perhaps the design of the book was consciously intended to resemble nineteenth-century books?

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is accessible for young children. I learned some things while reading it but the writing wasn't incredibly exciting.