What Darwin Saw: The Journey That Changed the World

Gr 36Among the new picture books about Darwin being published for his bicentennial birthday, this one stands up well. On the cover, a wide-eyed, handsome Charley Darwin peers through lush greenery at the top, and an equally wide-eyed and handsome monkey ignores him at the bottom. Inside, Schanzer uses Darwin's own words, taken from his journals, books, and letters, in the speech balloons of her graphic depiction of the voyage of the "Beagle". This is not a full biography, but begins with Darwin's acceptance of the offer to sail on the expedition and ends with the presentation of his theory of evolution in 1860. Bright, watercolor cartoons accurately portray landscapes and specimens while also creating a vivid sense of adventure. Schanzer's dedication is to her rabbi grandfather, who served as an advisor to Clarence Darrow at the Scopes trial, but in this book for young children, the controversies that surround Darwin's theory are not presented. Similar to Kathryn Lasky's "One Beetle Too Many" (Candlewick), this title pairs up nicely with Alice McGinty's "Darwin" (Houghton, both 2009) to give young readers a picture of the man and his adventures."Ellen Heath, Easton Area Public Library, Easton, PA" Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.