An Evolutionary Tale

I’ve been reading a lot, but not writing about it. Let’s blame summer vacation and my deep relaxation. It’s a good thing. And I am at the point where I have a large stack of books I could write about. Some are clamoring loudly for me to write about them, but I am choosing to write about a quieter book today.

Moth: An Evolution Story is written by Isabel Thomas and illustrated by Daniel Egnéus. It’s an excellent book that not only depicts the process of evolution, but  also allows young readers to look back at past human activity and its impact on the natural world.

Publisher’s Summary: “This is a story of light and dark.”

Against a lush backdrop of lichen-covered trees, the peppered moth lies hidden. Until the world begins to change …

A clever picture book text about the extraordinary way in which animals have evolved, intertwined with the complication of human intervention. This remarkable retelling of the story of the peppered moth is the perfect introduction to natural selection and evolution for children.

Along come people with their magnificent machines which stain the land with soot. In a beautiful landscape changed by humans how will one little moth survive?

Powerful and visually spectacular, Moth is the remarkable evolution story that captures the struggle of animal survival against the background of an evolving human world in a unique and atmospheric introduction to Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection.

The text is almost poetic prose, told with just enough detail to get the idea across. For those wanting more facts, the story of the peppered moth is included at the back in more straightforward, scientific prose. The illustrations lift this book, creating at atmosphere that captures the moth at night and the changing environment beautifully.

Almost every student learns about butterflies and moths during their primary school years. The butterfly always seems to take center stage. Moth: An Evolution Story might help the lowly moth gain more fans. A must for any classroom.

LOL

I have a couple of boys who truly laugh out loud when they read. They are young 6th graders. They like funny books and they really get into them. The class will be reading silently, then, suddenly a snort or a chortle erupts. The best part of this is that these boys seem to be oblivious to the effect of their outbursts. They blithely carry on reading.

Jonathan Follett and Matthew Holm must have had in mind when they wrote Marvin and the Moths.

 I can picture them chortling as they read this book, which I won in  Goodreads Giveaway. For my part, I found it a little slow to get started and stereotypical, but it will be a welcomed addition to my classroom library.

Publisher’s Summary:Matthew Holm, the Eisner Award–winning co-creator of Babymouse, teams with his childhood best friend for a hilarious prose debut.

Middle school is off to a rocky start for Marvin Watson. Doomed to misfit status, his only friends are a girl with major orthodontics, the smelliest boy in school, and the trio of sarcastic man-sized moths that live in his attic.

No one said middle school would be easy! Also, no one said that Marvin’s town would be threatened by mutant bugs, including a very hungry, Shakespeare-quoting spider. But life in the suburbs is full of surprises. Will Marvin be the one to unravel the mystery behind the mutants and save the town? Or will he be too busy with the real threat: his first school dance?!

This hilarious send-up of middle school has the humour of James Patterson’s I Funny, the underdog hero of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and the zany action of NERDS… and features illustrations by co-author Matthew Holm, New York Times bestselling illustrator of the Babymouse series and Sunny Side Up.

Plus: talking moths!