The Dawn of Life (Cartoon History of the Earth, 2) - Hardcover

Reviewed with others in the Cartoon History of the Earth series.

Gr. 3-5. Straightforward and lighthearted, these books in the Cartoon History of the Earth series use comic-style art and brief text to follow contemporary theory, from the Big Bang and how life developed on this planet to humans' spread across the planet and the beginnings of civilization and trade. The nicely designed books use bold caps and asterisked notes within the text, offering the added bits of information and explanation to help readers understand key points. With no more than six panels to the folio-sized page, there's no crowding. Fittingly, human beings are largely absent from the pictures in the first three volumes (a green hand directs readers to added notes), but rocks, bacteria, dinosaurs, and fish, all expressively drawn, provide plenty of commentary and a bit of humor in speech balloons. Children will want to begin at the beginning and carry right on through history. Francisca Goldsmith
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Grade 3-6-With slang expressions and onomatopoeia such as "yep," "phew," "splat," "whoosh," "woweee," and "yoo-hoo" throughout, these humorous presentations will lose readers who hate personifications and comic-book art, but will engage those who find science too dry and perfunctory. Cartoon fans will fall for these over-the-edge presentations and find themselves understanding the basic concepts. Dialogue balloons, fact boxes, and paragraphs of text share space with several illustrations per page, offering information in bites rather than straight narration. Well-organized, The Birth of the Earth transitions well to The Dawn of Life.
Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA
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