Bookverdict.com

Gr 3–6—Chin combines a bit of storytelling, factual explanations, and large and small paintings to chronicle the "birth" and ongoing development of islands in this far-off ocean cluster. A focus on the evolutionary rise and fall of the islands and skillful arrangement of an especially large number of images distinguish his presentation from the many books on the subject. Animals and plants simultaneously arrive and evolve in the changi...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Beginning six million years ago, Chin takes readers back in time to witness the development of that classic example of island biogeography, the Galápagos. Chapter one -- "Birth" -- begins with the undersea eruptions that form a new (hypothetical) island in the chain. The first mangrove seeds are deposited by the sea, and the island’s population gradually increases as the ecosystem develops and expands (chapter two: "Childhood: Five Million Years Ago"). The third chapter -- "Adulthood: Three Million Years Ago" -- discusses in some depth the unique and varied anim...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Readers witness the six-million-year development of classic biogeography example the Galápagos. The organizational structure--five chronological chapters--echoes the sto...Log In or Sign Up to Read More