Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution

by Steve Jenkins

There are millions of different kinds of plants and animals living on the earth. Many millions more lived here in the past. Where did they all come from? Why have some become extinct and others lived on?

In this remarkable book for children, Steve Jenkins explores the fascinating history of life on earth and the awe-inspiring story of evolution, Charles Darwin’s great contribution to modern science.

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, Evolution, Animals, Nature

40 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2002

About the author

Steve was born in 1952 in Hickory, North Carolina. His father, who would become a physics professor and astronomer (and recently his co-author on a book about the Solar System), was in the military and, later, working on science degrees at several different universities. We moved often. Steve lived in North Carolina, Panama, Virginia, Kansas, and Colorado. Wherever he lived, he kept a menagerie of lizards, turtles, spiders, and other animals, collected rocks and fossils, and blew things up in his small chemistry lab.

Because he moved often, Steve didn't have a large group of friends, and he spent a lot of time with books. His parents read to him until he could read himself, and he became an obsessive reader.

His interest in science led me to believe that I'd be a scientist himself. At the last minute, he chose instead to go to art school in North Carolina, where he studied graphic design. After graduation he moved to New York City, where he worked in advertising and design, first in large firms and then with his wife, Robin Page, in their own small graphic design firm. Robin, also an author and illustrator, is his frequent collaborator — they've made sixteen children's books together.

Their daughter Page was born in 1986 and our son, Alec, two years later. They began reading to them when they were just a few months old, and Steve became interested in making children's books himself. My wife and I read to our two older children almost every night until hisdaughter was 12 or 13, long after they were reading on their own. It was, in many ways, the best part of the day.

In 1994 they moved to from New York City to Boulder, Colorado, where they work in a studio attached to their house, which was built in the 1880s and often functions as if it were still the 19th century.

Their youngest son, Jamie, was born in 1998. The questions his children asked over the years have been the inspiration for many of their books.

Librarian's Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly, succinctly presented, shown and explained to older children from about eight or nine years of age (but in my opinion also very much suitable for interested teenagers and adults), and while more than adequately detailed without being overly so, and thankfully also avoiding the tendency of the featured subject matter, of the concept and theory of evolution being dumbed down, in other words that Steve Jenkins' text never appears as either too simplistic or worse, in any fashion silly and/or artificially humorous, Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution truly is both a joy to read and an academically sound, scientific gem (absolutely brilliantly focusing on ALL of the important and necessary points of the story of life on earth, on the theory of evolution, including of course, a short but sufficient introduction to Charles Darwin and his philosophy of survival of the fittest, that animals change over time, passing on those genetic traits that produce the most offspring, that increase the chance of survival and successsful breeding, that extinctions, including mass extinctions have always been part and parcel to life's story, as well as presenting that wonderfully imaginative albeit also tried and true timeline of showing the history of life on earth on the scale of a twenty-four hour clock).

Combined with Steve Jenkins' signature and always evocative, visually stunning collage like accompanying illustrations, Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution is indeed most highly recommended, with the suggestions for further reading and bibliography an added and appreciated academic, intellectual bonus (although I do have to rather wonder and more than a bit at that, why Jenkins has NOT also included at the very least Charles Darwin's seminal The Origin of Species and The Voyage of the Beagle as two of his primary bibliographic sources). And finally, although I have in fact read Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution as a Kindle download on my Ipad, I would not really recommend perusing this as an e-book (for while the Kindle edition of Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution is not in any way terrible, and certainly more than adequately presents both Steve Jenkins' text and images, I for one do find the electronic text just a trifle too small with regard to font size, especially for my ageing eyes).

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear and beautiful, with timeline (Earth's history, from formation, in a year, Modern Man in the last 2 seconds), bibliography, and appendix. Appreciable by readers of any age as it meets us where we're at, and even those of us who know it all can enjoy the artwork.

I learned that Gingko trees, dragonflies, cockroaches, sharks, and horseshoe crabs are all older than dinosaurs, making them even more resilient than even avian dinosaurs (the ones who evolved into birds). And therefore they are of course likely to outlast humans, which I suspect are a short-lived experiment in higher intelligence. That is, if this mass extinction event we're causing doesn't get a whole lot worse... which is def. an open question with a high probability of bad news for Life on Earth....

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book did an excellent job of explaining evolution for children but without dumbing down the subject. I especially love the timeline end, where he shows the history of the Earth as if it happened in a day. This is a great way to explain the long history of the planet, and while he's not the first person to do it, I'm glad he included it in this book.

I also love the illustrations, done in collage (paper cut-outs). It gives a lot of depth and visual interest to the book, and it's a lot of fun to just sit and look at the pictures. Good stuff.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life on Urf! I grabbed this one used because I thought Paul might like the animal pictures, but he will listen to a surprising amount of the text as well. This book was to blame for the period when he went around randomly announcing "microscopic bacteria!

[Selena]

Jenkins' text contains striking, colourful fabric illustrations against a stark, white background. The text is straightforward and is neither above children's comprehension nor does it condescend to them. This resource asks the important questions, such as 'Why have some [animals] died out while others have lived on?' The evolution of plants and animals is explained clearly, with just enough detail for young readers. Life on Earth also includes an introduction to Charles Darwin, his theory of evolution, survival of the fittest, variations and mutations, new species and extinctions. The text concludes with a useful picture index of all the animals presented in the text as well as a visual time-line of life on earth. Age 8-12. Review from School Library Journal: http://web.ebscohost.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfvi...

[Swapnali Saikia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for my 8-year-old daughter, but I too found it equally interesting. My daughter also enjoyed reading the book.

[Eleanor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Science-ish.

[Zazu Gomez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is well detailed and explained in a way that a child in third grade or older could understand without leaving out essential information or simplifying it too much. The book opens with the comparison of different plants and animals found on Earth. They are all very different and don’t have much in common, however they all share the same ancestor from which they evolved from: a single cell organism that lived over 3 billion years ago. Next comes the explanation of how for a very long time, when planet Earth was new, life couldn’t survive because the conditions didn’t allow it. It was too hot and there was no liquid water. Eventually, when the climate began to change, single cell organisms came into existence which then evolved into more complex organisms like plants in the ocean and all the way to mammals. Jenkins goes into depth about Charles Darwin and his trip on the Beagle to the Galapagos in which he conducted his research on different finches and their beaks. Darwin came up with his theory of evolution when he began to realize that the finches had all come from one finch but eventually all gradually changed over generations because of their wide range in diets. A great book to introduce children to evolution!

[Anneka Hilde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life on Earth the Story of Evolution by Steve Jenkins is a children’s story about evolution. This is a great book for kids to begin to understand this huge topic and what it really means. Jenkins used pictures and a timeline of events to show how life began, how life evolved, and how long the process took. At the end of this book there is a timeline to give a visual of the beginning of the Earth, bacteria, animals, and humans and how far apart they occurred from one another. This book would be great to use in a science lesson at school because you could read this book and then dive deeper into a lesson on evolution. The illustrations in this book have so many different animals throughout that I believe add to the attraction students would have with this book. The illustrations also make the book easier to understand and for children to know what they author is referring to.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

As ever, the art is phenomenal. Evolution doesn't really seem like something to just trip into, and the beginning of the book falters by throwing all this life but not identifying or giving a good why. When it gets to evolution the pace improves, but really iffy on the manner of starting out.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always a beautifully crafted book with amazingly detailed paper collage illustrations combined with fascinating information.

[Megan Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for kids that are interested in Biology and think they may want to be a Biologist one day. It explains a lot of key terms and concepts!

[Noam Bader]

In this book, you'll learn about evolution, from Charles Darwin's theory to animals of all kinds!

[Lilli · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are tons of typos in this kindle book!

There are so many typos in this book that it makes it difficult to read and enjoy. I found it very distracting and frustrating.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great infographics and simplified information.

[Micki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good timeline and pretty streamlined.

[Herman Diaz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did you put any effort into this? ( www.amazon.com/review/R21LUEX1AD0VBE/... ): 1/5

Short version: If you want the best children's book about both evolution & the history of life, get Kelly/Kissel's "Evolving Planet: Four Billion Years of Life on Earth". It's everything that kind of book should be & MUCH more. Jenkins's "Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution" (henceforth Life) is the exact opposite of that in every way.

Long version: Read on.

As far as I know, there aren't many children's books about both evolution & the history of life. If you want the best 1, get Kelly/Kissel's book (which was published by 1 of the best natural history museums, the Field Museum of Natural History). If said book is the "Sonic Sat AM" of its genre, then Life is "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvTn8Qp8FAU ). In this review, I list the 4 main reasons why I think that is, besides the lack of expert consulting.

1) Life is very poorly-illustrated. This is especially apparent in the illustrations of non-bird dinos (E.g. The generic sauropod on the front cover has lizard feet & an ear hole on its neck; The generic tyrannosaur on the back cover has pronated hands & a vertical posture; Both have misshapen heads & dragging tails), but also applies to the illustrations of other things (E.g. The ostrich on the front cover has spaghetti legs with 3 long, clawed toes per foot). It doesn't help that "the illustrations are collages of cut and torn paper" & thus very cheap looking.

2) Life is very hit-&-miss in terms of getting the facts straight. This is especially apparent in the text about non-bird dinos (E.g. See the 1st Jenkins quote;* It's also worth mentioning that the aforementioned sauropod is referred to as Megalosaurus, a theropod), but also applies to the text about other things (E.g. What's clearly a Komodo dragon is referred to as Hylonomus, an early reptile). It's very telling that the only dino book listed under "For further reading" is from 1991.

3) Life is very poorly-written: For 1, it synonymizes "developed" with "evolved" ( www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/04... ); For another, it simplifies things to the point of being meaningless (E.g. See the 2nd Jenkins quote; Notice that it fails to mention either DNA, which causes mutation, or variation, which is caused by mutation).

4) There are no cladograms in Life. This is despite the fact that, to quote Grandmother Fish, clades "are central to a modern understanding of how we living things relate to each other". Worse still, evolution is shown as a straight line. This is despite the fact that the 1993 edition of Gamlin's "Evolution (DK Eyewitness Books)", listed under "For further reading", debunks that "false picture" (See the Gamlin quote).

*In said quote alone, it's claimed that dinos are paraphyletic (They're not), that marine reptiles & pterosaurs are dinos (They're not), & that 230 - 160 = 65 (It doesn't).

Quoting Jenkins: "230 million years ago. One or more groups of reptiles evolve into dinosaurs. They range from bird-like animals a few inches tall to giants more than 90 feet long. They live in the sea, on the land, and in the air. Dinosaurs will be the dominant animals on the earth for the next 160 million years."

Quoting Jenkins: "Mutation. Sometimes when plants and animals reproduce, something unusual happens and completely new features, called mutations, appear in the next generation. Most mutations are harmful and cause the organism to die. Sometimes, though, they provide an advantage and are passed on."

Quoting Gamlin: "GALLOPING UP
The evolution of the horse is often shown by a diagram such as this (left). Although the fossils of all these ancestors have indeed been found, this “ladder” gives a false picture. Evolution does not go in straight lines, and it is not always a steady march of progress from small-and-simple to large-and-complicated. A more realistic image is a densely branching bush (below). There have been dozens of species, most of which have died out, leaving just wild horses, donkeys, and zebras."

[Nyna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life on Earth is an incredibly dull information book for children. If I were to give them a textbook, this would be one of them. It is clever in how it presents the information to students, and the pictures are accurate, even if they aren’t real images. I think this book would be better presented with another book. I would pick a book on Darwin, or another evolutionary book of sorts; assuming I was talking about content. If I was looking at pictures, I might use a “What do you see?” book. I think one of them starts with a brown bear… If I was comparing the language style, I would pick a story book and ask a class about the differences in an informational book and a story book. Overall, I just finished reading it as quickly as I could before falling asleep. Oh! The use of concepts unusual to children is one of its brilliances.

[Tasha Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to the topic of evolution, especially for younger students who will revisit this concept most likely either in high school or college. However, because it deals with evolution there may be some parental issues because of the controversy that has surrounded this topic in the past, especially in the classroom. I really loved the page where Jenkins lays out a timeline that represents one single day and compacts earth's entire history up until present day on it. This allows kids to visually see exactly how long humans have been around, which isn't that long compared to other organisms.

This book would've greatly helped me with my studies if I read it as a child because I entered the topic with much more complex terms and really would've appreciated a simple version first and then build off from there.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty brave of Steve Jenkins and his publishers to tackle a book on evolution for children. Although the book won't be to everyone's particular taste, the explanations of natural selection, variation, and mutations that are harmful and helpful are quite accessible to young readers and would be useful even in classrooms with older children. The inclusion of a timeline and simple bits of information about when certain creatures roamed the earth will help readers gain perspective on the Earth's age. As is always the case with this man's artwork, the torn- and cut-paper collages are eye-catching as are some of the notes he includes. What fourth grader won't love knowing that fossil cockroaches 350 million years old have been found?

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the information in this book about evolution. It was very straight forward with the basics and a great introduction to a topic. The artwork was very nice, but I didn't feel like it was appropriate for the book. The artwork was collage, and very beautiful, but it didn't seem to fit with a scientific themed book. It seems like it would have been more accurate to use computer generated "photographs." Or maybe they used the collage because we don't really know what some of those things really looked like and they were trying to give an impression of the organisms and animals instead of a "picture."

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrated timeline from first life on Earth to now. Explains adaptations, natural selection, mutations, variations, development of new species, and extinction. Great timeline in the back shows what the history of life on Earth would look like in a 24 hour day.

6th Grade New Mexico Science Standards:
Strand II. Standard II. 5-8 Benchmark I. 2
Strand II. Standard II. 5-8 Benchmark I. 3
Strand II. Standard II. 5-8 Benchmark II. 1
Strand II. Standard II. 5-8 Benchmark II. 2

* Available at Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Libraries*

[Abby Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jenkins provides an excellent overview of evolution and the development of life on earth, complete with his always awesome cut paper collage illustrations. He includes information on the beginning of life on earth, the various animals that appeared over the past 4.5 billion years, the theory of evolution (including how Darwin and others developed it), and variation and mutation. This would be a great place for elementary school children to start learning about evolution.

[Dani Kappel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book were very unique. They used cut up pieces of paper for the plants and animals. This book was fairly comprehensive. It discusses the theory of evolution starting with the beginning of life all the way through to the present day. There is a section that also discusses Darwin, his life, and scientific contributions. I would recommend this book for children 6 and up, especially those that have an interest in science.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I don't necessarily agree with some of the speculation or some of the numbers in this book, this is a great introduction for kids to the idea of evolution. I like how it presents a clear picture of natural selection and variation and mutation. The illustrations in this book are on the better end of Jenkins' abilities.

[Audrey's Picture Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a perfectly adequate book, compared to picture book nonfiction as a whole, but it's not quite up to Steve Jenkins's usual standard. Normally, my first reaction to a Steve Jenkins science book is to want everyone I know to read it. This one is fine, but it's not amazing. You can tell it came out fairly early in the author's career.

[Michelle Wyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK! i used it in a 7th grade science class when we were discussing evolution. The book explains very elegantly the theory of evolution without swaying very religiously, or too scientifically. All the kids loved the illustrations, and it clarified some key concepts for them. A++

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the art in this one. Sort of picture of paper cutouts. Started as simple picture book story and later became book for older kids about evolution. Touches on Darwin and the Galapagos. Easy to understand. Fun pictures.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, concise history of the evolution of living things that inhabit the Earth. Theories and facts are also included which highlight some work by Charles Darwin and his theory about survival of the fittest and evolution.

Includes a timeline which is represented by a 24 hour day.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely animal illustrations and good information - the story-telling could be more engaging. While the layout of the book seems like it would appeal to a pre-schooler, the text is a bit more difficult.