... the only democratic national atheist organization in the United States ...
AAI 2008 Community Cooperation Award applications available - Deadline August 31!
Now Available! 2007 Convention DVDs - Convention Collectibles - Convention Photos
featured book review: march 2003 The Tree of Life: The Wonders of Evolution by Ellen Jackson / Illustrated by Judeanne Winter for Ages 9-12 (from Prometheus Books, 1993) "During a recent trip to the library, I noticed that, while there were many books retelling biblical creation stories, there were relatively few books on evolution for younger children. Those books that attempted to explain evolution did so in a way that, though scientifically accurate, conveyed none of the wonder and excitement of this concept. THE TREE OF LIFE is my attempt to help young children understand the beauty and power of this great idea." [from the Author's Note] I don't know what I could possibly add to that. It is right on all counts: although evolution is the single most awe-inspiring idea in human history, it is notoriously hard to capture accurately in a nutshell --- even for adults, much less kids. That's not to say the idea is terribly complex --- on the contrary, it is elegant simplicity itself. But whereas "God made you, isn't that neat?" takes a mere six words, describing the marvel of evolution by natural selection takes a daunting three to five minutes --- a commitment of attention that's just too darn high for too many folks. So most kids' books either bypass reality in favor of fable or wring all the wonder out of evolution in the service of dogged accuracy. Ellen Jackson walks that tightrope beautifully in THE TREE OF LIFE. Further into the Author's Note she acknowledges this precise dilemma, admitting that absolute precision is necessarily compromised to some extent by simplification, but rightly suggesting that the preservation of wonder demands that small trade-off. The broad strokes of evolution are presented in an admirably-paced sequence of stages and processes that gets all the concepts right, serving knowledge and wonder in equal portions. The central metaphor, unfortunately, gets in the way just a tad. Kids are apt to trip on the reference to the "tree of life." Since the book revolves around life of various types, my audience was confused, thinking at first it was a reference to an actual tree. It took some explaining, which then distracted from the main thesis. And the illustrations fall a little short of the four-color wonder evoked by Old Testament retellings, perhaps as much a matter of production costs as any design philosophy. All in all, this is a marvelous effort too seldom made. After a few rereadings, your kids will have a better grasp of the process of evolution than 99% of the kids --- and 97% of the adults --- in town. [Editor's note: the promise made in January of upcoming reviews of D'AULAIRES' BOOK OF GREEK MYTHS and other myth retellings for junior high and high school readers will be kept in the near future.] |
| Questions or Comments? Whether you want to get involved, or you found a broken link, write to: |
| COPYRIGHT © 2008 Atheist Alliance |