Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story
by Lauren Stringer, Lisa Westberg Peters

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Book Reviews of Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story

Book Review: A planet where men descended from apes?
Summary: 4 Stars

A delicate rendering of Lascaux acrylics on watercolor paper, the story is one of the oldest ones on earth. Peters begins, "All of us are part of an old, old family. The roots of our family tree reach way back to the beginning of life on earth. We've changed a lot since then". Slowly we learn about DNA and the birth of cells in the seas. We hear about oxygen filling the planet and how the seas rose and fell, changing the landscape. About how animals crawled up onto the land and how after an asteroid our particular branch of the family tree survived. Finally, the monkeys evolved, and we evolved out of the monkeys. The book ends with further details for the inquisitive child about each step of the family tree. A helpful timeline follows these facts at the end.

For those human beings that dislike the notion of evolution and prefer a more creation-laden viewpoint, this is not the book for you. It's pretty darn clear in the text that life began 3,800 to 3,600 million years ago. End of story. You will not find a religious note in this book. It's scientifically written and happy to remain that way. Not that the facts presented are full-proof. I may be wrong, but I don't believe the asteroid theory has ever matter-of-factly killed off the dinosaurs as it does here. Also (as more professional reviewers have pointed out) the timeline really does make it look as if it was just a hop, skip, and a jump from single celled organisms to wormlike vertebrates.

On the whole, however, this is a good informative text. Children reading it should be a little older, in order to fully grasp exactly what is being said. For them, however, this book serves as an excellent resource. The pictures are lovely and the facts are mostly on the ball. A lovely addition to any children's evolution library.

Summary of Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story

Biology Books

• Subjects > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Biology
• Nature
• Science & Math > Evolution