cover image Billions of Years, Amazing Changes: The Story of Evolution

Billions of Years, Amazing Changes: The Story of Evolution

Laurence Pringle, illus. by Steve Jenkins. Boyds Mills, $17.95 (96p) ISBN 978-1-59078-723-6

Pringle provides an accessible introduction to complex concepts such as natural selection and genetics, paired with Jenkins’s characteristically elegant collages. A chapter about variation opens with a discussion of the differences between dog breeds, and how such variation within a species “makes evolution possible.” Pringle describes missing links as “in-between” fossils that have helped construct a clearer picture of evolutionary stages. Compelling photographs of fossils and living creatures, as well as Jenkins’s paper collages, augment the substantial text. The presentation should help children gain a confident grasp on the fundamentals of evolution. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)