Life on Earth the story of evolution - Steve Jenkins

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Steve Jenkins. 2002. Life on Earth the story of evolution. : Houghton Mifflin: Boston. ISBN 9780618164769.

PLOT SUMMARY

In Life on Earth the Story of Evolution, Steve Jenkins explores the history of evolution on earth and introduces young readers to Charles Darwin and genetics. This book provides the basics for children learning about science, biology, and evolution. It's great as a seek and find or naming book, and for initiating more specific conversations about evolutionary history.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book begins with the first bacteria and progresses through the emergence of human life as we look now. Jenkins tells the story of Charles Darwin’s research and how he developed his theories of evolution and natural selection. He explains how offspring have traits from both parents, resulting in mutations both positive and negative. Jenkins touches on the evolution of mammals, reptiles, fish, and insects. He identifies the oldest designs still around today: bacteria, alligators, etc. The main story is presented in large text using language that is easy to understand and digest. In smaller font intermingled with the pictures are interesting facts that connect ideas, satiating curiosities about the animals. A delightful illustration toward the end breaks down evolution as if it were in a 24 hour period, midnight being modern day. According to this analogy, dinosaurs went extinct at 11:39pm and the first humans appeared at 11:59:58 pm.

Stunning paper collage illustrations truthfully portray each animal. Handmade papers provide variety of texture and fiber effects: torn paper resembles the fuzziness of hair and grass, careful cutouts become spikes and toenails, and the patterns from the pulled fibers give depth to the illustrations I’ve never seen in collage work.

Across pages 4-7 Jenkins fashioned all sorts of animals and included the name of each. Reading with my 3 year old daughter, we pointed at and name each animal; she patiently sounded out the long names with us. She was engrossed for long time, repeating their names, independently reading ahead. Later we switched roles; she asked me the name (if I said wrong, she corrected meJ) and flipped back and forth through the pages that revisited her favored animals. On the final page, Jenkins provides a number index stating each of those corresponding animals’ names, where they lived, and if they’re extinct, how long ago they were on Earth. Did you know the Bear Beetle only lives in California? Adjacent to the index is his bibliography and citations for further reading.

Overall this was an awesome book, for both the toddler and adults. I’m sure it will be a hit for the middle years as well! It is a great addition to any classroom or home.

Jenkins said in an interview, "In my books, I try to present straightforward information in a context that makes sense to children. Children don't need anyone to give them a sense of wonder; they already have that. But they do need a way to incorporate the various bits and pieces of knowledge they acquire into some logical picture of the world. For me, science provides the most elegant and satisfying way to construct this picture." Read more: http://biography.jrank.org/pages/936/Jenkins-Steve-1952.html#ixzz0UzyCAxTg


REVIEW EXCERPTS

The information spans an impressive range; Jenkins organizes and presents it with a clarity that demonstrates his mindfulness of the audience. Bright-eyed frogs appear ready to jump off the pages; a shark swims menacingly toward readers; a wooly mammoth looks soft enough to pet. Science at its most inviting. -Publishers Weekly

"An accessible introduction to a complex topic [that] taps into children's sense of wonder about the world, which is the great starting point for scientific exploration." -Christine Hepperman, New York Times Book Review

CONNECTIONS

Steve Jenkins has only been illustrating for less than ten years, but in that time he’s impressed us all with his gift of creating nonfiction works of art. He depicts various animal characteristics and capabilities in kid-friendly terms. In his acceptance speech for the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Nonfiction for The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest, Jenkins said, "In my books, I try to present straightforward information in a context that makes sense to children. Children don't need anyone to give them a sense of wonder; they already have that. But they do need a way to incorporate the various bits and pieces of knowledge they acquire into some logical picture of the world. For me, science provides the most elegant and satisfying way to construct this picture."

He starts with photographs from books or those he takes himself. Once he has the overall ideas in his head, he begins putting things on paper. He begins with sketches based on the references and how he envisions them on the page. Then he decides what paper to use for the details of the collage, and begins to tear and cut the paper into animals, layer by layer In an interview on childrenslit.com Jenkins says “[that's] one of the appeals of this kind of art for kids, that they are filling in part of the information. So not only is it satisfying for me to find a piece of paper that is at the same time a hippopotamus's skin, but I think kids get the same satisfaction from filling in the details and making it into a hippo as well as a piece of paper.” Read more, it’s a great interview: www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/mai_jenkins_steve.html

School Library Journal: In Living Color Here is another interview with Steve Jenkins in which he discusses how he makes his books.

http://www.stevejenkinsbooks.com/
Invite this author to come do a session with your reading community. Make collages, make paper books, tell stories.

Awards for Life on Earth

Booklist Editor's Choice citation, and School Library Journal best books of the year citation, both 2002, and NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Book citation, 2003.
http://biography.jrank.org/pages/936/Jenkins-Steve-1952.html#ixzz0UzxxFWQq