My daughter, age 7.5 (entering 2nd grade in the fall), has been really interested in earth history lately.
What book on how life on earth has evolved that you would recommend for her age?
Go to a used bookstore, and see if you can find a copy of The Cosmic Connection by Carl Sagan. In it, a chapter titled “The Starfolk: A Fable” recounts the Big Bang and the evolution of life, in the style of a fairytale.
The first volume of Larry Gonick’s The Cartoon History of the Universe is pretty good. You may want to preview it before giving it to your daughter, though. Some of the material may not be appropriate for small children.
Thank you!
I love that she asks me these questions. I’m glad there are books to help explain it at her level.
Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came To Be got great reviews when it came out. We have it and it’s just right for the 7-8 range; I was disappointed on my 10yo’s behalf but it was perfect for my 8yo.
It has a bunch of 2- page spreads like articles or mini-chapters and wonderful illustrations. Visually it’s much cleaner than a DK book.
Ordered it!
It looks perfect!
I just ordered the Loxton book from the library - thanks for that info.
I do have The Tree of Life, but found my kid is complete uninterested in it. It’s important to note the interior pages are all black and white, which can be a turnoff. I think now that she’s almost 8, I might try it again when she asks questions.
I had a lot of success just talking with her and drawing pictures of giraffes. Some were tall enough to reach all the leaves on the tree, some only a few. We talked about which ones would live to have more babies. I think discussing one group of animals getting separated on two islands with different habitats is a good way to illustrate speciation.