Darwin and the True Story of the Dinosaurs (Flashes of Genius) - Softcover

Luca Novelli is a writer, artist, and journalist whose books about science and nature have been translated around the world. In 2001 he received the League for the Environment Award, and in 2004 he won the Andersen Prize for popularizing science.

Gr 3 Up—Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species forever changed human thought. But before the birth of that book, Darwin struggled to find his place in the world. Considered a middling student and regarded as incompetent by his father, Darwin moved from studies in medicine to theology, until he was encouraged by one of his professors to take an exploratory trip around the world. Thus began Darwin's scientific journey that eventually led to his seminal work. Novelli introduces readers to Darwin as a boy and takes them through his life using short chapters containing conversational dialogue, cartoonlike line drawings, and sidebars peppered with historical tidbits. The combination of the first-person narrative and the illustrations makes for an engaging and fast-paced read. Students will also enjoy the useful "Darwinian Dictionary," the author's "interview" with Darwin, and the addition of current photographs of places visited by the great naturalist. VERDICT A humorous pick for large STEM collections; great for readers not quite ready for Deborah Heiligman's Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith.—Tabitha Nordby, Red River College, Man.