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The Tree of Life: A Book Depicting the Life of Charles Darwin: Naturalist, Geologist, & Thinker

Peter Sís's picture book biography of Charles Darwin is as complex as Darwin's contributions to modern science. Beginning with the endpapers, not an inch of any page is left uncovered. Intricate drawings, text boxes, diagrams, and maps are accompanied by several strands of text differentiated by font and size. In one narrative strand, there is an account of Darwin's life from childhood on. In the second, additional detail about Darwin's private life is revealed. In the third, readers have access to Darwin's secret thoughts and hypotheses-ideas he knew were radical and risky to make public. Finally, there are excerpts from Darwin's journals. The first three threads are significant, because Darwin led a very secret intellectual life in a society that was not always eager to embrace scientific change, particularly not when those discoveries threatened the beliefs of the Christian Church. While the additional source documentation would have been helpful, this is nonetheless a significant work that illuminates Darwin's life and times for children and teens. ©2003 Cooperative Children's Book Center

Illustrated by Peter Sis

CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 10 and older
Age Range: Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10) Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13) Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Formats: Picture book Substantial Narrative Non-Fiction
Subjects: 19th Century Biography Change Evolution History (Nonfiction) Nature/Environment Science and Scientists

Publishers: Farrar Straus Giroux, Frances Foster Books
Publish Year: 2003
Pages: 32
ISBN: 0674456283

CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 920 Darwin