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Giants of Science
Charles Darwin
All his life, Charles Darwin hated controversy. Yet he takes his place among the Giants of Science for what remains an immensely controversial subject: the theory of evolution. Darwin began piecing together his explanation for how all living things change or adapt during his five-year voyage on HMS Beagle. But it took him twenty years to go public, for fear of the backlash his theory would cause. Once again, Kathleen Krull delivers a witty and astute picture of one of history's greatest scientists.
144 pages, Hardcover
Published October 14, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
May 15, 2023
This is the first biography I’ve read in the Giants of Science series for middle grade.
Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, a sleeping town in industrially booming England. His father was a doctor. His mother was well-educated and a serious gardener. He had three older sisters and one older brother. His grandfather was a well-known doctor and inventor.
When his father gave him two books about insects, and stones and minerals, his fascination began. When he was eight, his mother died, and around the same time, he developed passion for collecting, which included insects and minerals.
With his brother, they shared passion for chemistry and experiments. But per their father’s wish, they had to study medicine.
Charles quickly figured out that he was interested in nature, and not the human body. Through different professors that he encountered he learned different approaches to experiments and how to draw conclusions. Those professors noticed his passion and recommended him for an expedition as ship’s naturalist.
This trip around the world stretched from two to five years and that was enough for him. Afterwards, he never left the shores of the British isle.
It was fascinating to learn that he had only one voyage and once he settled in London, he became a keen observer of his children, and how they were evolving as human beings.
There are just a few black and white illustrations, but they’re gorgeous. Almost like paintings.
The text is very engaging, has a nice flow. It reads like a fascinating story.
This has become one of my favorite series.
Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, a sleeping town in industrially booming England. His father was a doctor. His mother was well-educated and a serious gardener. He had three older sisters and one older brother. His grandfather was a well-known doctor and inventor.
When his father gave him two books about insects, and stones and minerals, his fascination began. When he was eight, his mother died, and around the same time, he developed passion for collecting, which included insects and minerals.
With his brother, they shared passion for chemistry and experiments. But per their father’s wish, they had to study medicine.
Charles quickly figured out that he was interested in nature, and not the human body. Through different professors that he encountered he learned different approaches to experiments and how to draw conclusions. Those professors noticed his passion and recommended him for an expedition as ship’s naturalist.
This trip around the world stretched from two to five years and that was enough for him. Afterwards, he never left the shores of the British isle.
It was fascinating to learn that he had only one voyage and once he settled in London, he became a keen observer of his children, and how they were evolving as human beings.
There are just a few black and white illustrations, but they’re gorgeous. Almost like paintings.
The text is very engaging, has a nice flow. It reads like a fascinating story.
This has become one of my favorite series.
November 6, 2017
Charles Darwin was a fascinating man. Born rich, he had time to follow his interests and spent years studying nature. After abandoning a potential career in medicine (because he couldn't stand the sight of blood), Darwin was offered the position of gentleman naturalist on the Beagle and spent almost five years traveling around the world and collecting specimens of plants and animals. Despite a ferocious seasickness that never went away, Darwin took thousands of pages of notes about his observations.
When he returned to England, he spent years going through and studying his specimens and coming up with proof of the theory of evolution. The theory was not new; his grandfather had proposed a variation on it. What Darwin did was provide all sorts of evidence to support his theory.
Being a non-confrontational sort of person and plagued with a variety of illnesses, Darwin sat on his research and continually improved it for years before publishing his masterwork On the Origin of Species. It sold well in part because it was written in a way that the average educated reader could understand it and in part because the time was right in Victorian England for that kind of work.
After publication, he took sort of a backseat and let his "cheerleaders" - other prominent scientists who agreed with his theory - to do the publicizing. Darwin turned his attention to other scientific studies - barnacles, orchids, and worms, among them - where he could put his keen sense of observation to work.
This was an engaging story about an intriguing man and a theory that has changed science and is still changing it today.
When he returned to England, he spent years going through and studying his specimens and coming up with proof of the theory of evolution. The theory was not new; his grandfather had proposed a variation on it. What Darwin did was provide all sorts of evidence to support his theory.
Being a non-confrontational sort of person and plagued with a variety of illnesses, Darwin sat on his research and continually improved it for years before publishing his masterwork On the Origin of Species. It sold well in part because it was written in a way that the average educated reader could understand it and in part because the time was right in Victorian England for that kind of work.
After publication, he took sort of a backseat and let his "cheerleaders" - other prominent scientists who agreed with his theory - to do the publicizing. Darwin turned his attention to other scientific studies - barnacles, orchids, and worms, among them - where he could put his keen sense of observation to work.
This was an engaging story about an intriguing man and a theory that has changed science and is still changing it today.
December 3, 2020
Bence akıcı ve sade dil ile anlatılan bu biyografi serisini herkes okumalı. Bilimin Devleri diye çevirmiş Martı yayınları. Öyle ki, Charles Darwin belki de bilimin en tartışılan kişisi. Evrim teorisi hâlâ daha tartışılan konu, katılırsınız katılmazsınız size kalmış tabi ki. Ancak ben bu kitapta sadece evrim teorisi ya da Survival of the fittest teorilerini anlamadim, aynı zamanda Darwin'in hayatı boyunca emekleri, çabaları, gerektiğinde korkularını gördüm, hissettim.
Ben kendi tezimi yazarken bile Darwin ile ilgili bir bölüm yazmıştım ve Darwin'i hiç böyle tanimlamamistim, hatta eleştirmiştim, ancak şimdi görüyorum ki, farkli teori ve idolojileri illa ki savunmak gerekmiyor. Onları anlamaya çalışmak, empati kurabilmek de gerekli olan şeylerden.birkaci.
5/5
Ben kendi tezimi yazarken bile Darwin ile ilgili bir bölüm yazmıştım ve Darwin'i hiç böyle tanimlamamistim, hatta eleştirmiştim, ancak şimdi görüyorum ki, farkli teori ve idolojileri illa ki savunmak gerekmiyor. Onları anlamaya çalışmak, empati kurabilmek de gerekli olan şeylerden.birkaci.
5/5
January 18, 2024
After reading this book I feel as though I have a thorough understanding of Darwin's life from his childhood experiences to exploring the Galapagos. One of the surprising things about Charles Darwin is that he struggled with stomach pains and vomiting for the majority of his life. Even now, scientists still don't know the cause of his sickness. Also, Darwin showed great courage in publicating his findings on evolution even though it went against the church's beliefs. His bravery helped better the world by giving people an understanding of how the world works and how it evolved.
November 5, 2018
I enjoyed reading this book, as Charles Darwin's life seemed amazing and adventurous. I liked how he was nice and humble, trying his best to avoid conflict. I must also give credit to the author's great writing style. I especially liked how the author kept hinting at Darwin's eventual discovery of evolution, one step at a time, throughout the whole book. This is a great book to read, and I believe that everyone who appreciates science should read this book.
April 13, 2018
This was a very interesting book about the life of Charles Darwin. This is a short read but it has a lot of detail which I never really knew about!
Lexile Measures: BR860L
DRA Level: 50
Voice, Organization
Lexile Measures: BR860L
DRA Level: 50
Voice, Organization
January 23, 2023
Darwin ve evrim hakkında okuduğum ilk kitap diyebilirim . Akıcı bir dile sahip okuması kolay tek oturuşta bitirilebilecek bir kitap fakat olayların kısaltılıp basitleştirilmesi sonucu kitabın etkileyiciliğini kaybettiğini düşünüyorum daha uzun bir yazı olup okuyucu daha çok bilgilendirilebilirdi .
August 6, 2017
A good introductory book about Darvin.
October 24, 2017
Charles Darin was just a nice guy. A nice guy who did not want to follow in his father's footsteps and become a medical doctor. He did, however, become a great man.
February 3, 2023
Great introduction to Darwin!
March 17, 2017
Precies wat ik nodig had: niet te lang, niet te kort, massa's informatie, vlot geschreven.
July 29, 2012
I'm really impressed by this book. When I think of biographies, I think of it as something as exciting as those articles on wikipedia. Now don't get me wrong, I love the versatility of wikipedia, but most of the time, my brain can't process that much information. And then, here comes this biography of Charles Darwin by Kathleen Krull that's in one part very informative, and in one part very interesting. I loved how Ms. Krull taught me a lot about Darwin's personality, and I think knowing more about him and what kind of guy he is actually made the reading more interesting. This book is super reader friendly; not throwing too much complicated information in one paragraph, instead, introducing them in words that I can actually understand.
The work, the effort, and the beautiful illustrations put into this book is absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend you to give this book a try!
The work, the effort, and the beautiful illustrations put into this book is absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend you to give this book a try!
February 18, 2024
Most people know that Charles Darwin sailed on the HMS Beagle, explored the Galapagos Islands, and wrote The Origin of the Species which launched the theory of evolution. What many of us didn’t know: Charles Darwin’s over-bearing wealthy father ignored Charles’ passion for nature and forced him to train as a doctor. At the University of Edinburgh, Charles neglected his medical studies while he fed his curiosity about marine invertebrates. By his early twenties, he found the courage to tell his father that he leaving medicine behind for a career as a naturalist. Charles suffered from mysterious stomach trouble, married late in life, and preferred to live as a semi-recluse.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
August 22, 2014
Outstanding! A very complete presentation of the life experiences that led Darwin to develop his theory of natural selection and evolution. Darwin is presented as a gentle man who dotes on his children and avoids conflict. Though his father pushed him to become a doctor and then a member of the clergy, Darwin takes an almost five year trip on the Beagle, traveling around the world. When he returns he rarely leaves his home in England but he is a changed man. He writes about his journey and begins what eventually becomes The Origin of Species. This book was widely read and still is the source of conflict and discussion today.
(Part of the Giants of Science series and an award winner)
(Part of the Giants of Science series and an award winner)
August 13, 2011
A science biography written for upper elementary/ junior high age... it was an interesting, simple read about Charles Darwin. I'd heard limited and different views of Darwin and of course, we read this one from the view point of the author. But, it was very interesting to consider all that was going on during his lifetime and how those budding scientific fields and personalities played such an intricate part of developing his view of the world in that period of time. His opportunities to travel the world in the 1800's was also fascinating.
January 29, 2011
I read this on recommendation from my Literacy professor, who is on the Board of Advisors for the International Collection of Children’s and Adolescent Literature, to give her my second opinion. I learned a lot from this biography aimed at young readers. I like to stay as smart as the 5 th graders I'll be teaching, and I'll certainly recommend this to the ones who like to read for fun facts and are interested in any science, from biology to psychology.
November 23, 2014
I like the Giants of Science series. We read one about Isaac Newton not too long ago. This one was interesting and even though it's a kid's book (chapter book for older kids - maybe in the 7-11 range?), it filled in some facts about Darwin for me. Cool stuff, though we skipped around a lot in the book -- there were some parts that just didn't hold our attention very well, but we did like what we read. We'll be reading more "Giants of Science" in the future.
January 13, 2016
This is a very good story about Charles Darwin. The book is very well written. Also, being Darwin's life was mostly in the early-late 1800 the author did a great job of fitting in his works for today. If all the Giants of Science books are written like this one, I would highly recommend reading them.
November 18, 2016
Excellent book that describes the life of Charles Darwin. Meant for middle to high school students, it's an easy read. I'm a science teacher with a specialization and passion for Evolution and this book gives insights to the culture of the time as well as some science tidbits from his most popular books.
July 14, 2012
I'm glad that Krull put this sentence in...."It is important to note that many scientists with strong religious beliefs see not conflict between science and their faith in God. These are just two different ways of understanding the world and don't have to cancel each other out".
August 29, 2016
An informative and enjoyable read about Charles Darwin that is perfect for middle/high school readers researching him for a biography paper or just for a better understanding of the man whose theories changed scientific approaches for the rest of time.
July 13, 2011
This looks like an interesting series of biographies.
December 27, 2011
Great book, I look forward to reading it with my 7th grade biology class. This is a great introduction to the theory of evolution and how it came about!
February 18, 2012
I learned a lot! Good book!
January 14, 2013
I love this series, The Giants of Science, lives of the scientists made accessible and interesting to middle grade readers.
July 23, 2014
Well written and interesting biography.
April 5, 2016
Appears to be a good book despite the creepy illustrations and the misleading cover art with Darwin's "Paint me like one of your French girls" face.
May 2, 2016
I liked this biography. I had no idea that Darwin wrote so many other books besides the Origin of Species. And it's a nice easy read, a good middle grade book.
March 20, 2015
boring
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews