Grandmother Fish facts for kids
Hardcover of Grandmother Fish: A Child's First Book of Evolution
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| Author | Jonathan Tweet |
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| Illustrator | Karen Lewis |
| Subject | Evolution |
| Publisher | Feiwel & Friends Macmillan |
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Publication date
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September 6, 2016 |
| Pages | 40 |
| ISBN | 978-1250113238 |
Grandmother Fish: A Child's First Book of Evolution is a special book written by Jonathan Tweet. It helps young children, usually ages 3 to 5, understand a big idea called Charles Darwin's theory of common descent. This theory explains that all living things on Earth are connected and share a common ancestor.
The book uses a fun "call-and-response" style. This means the reader asks the child to copy the actions of different animals from our past. For example, a child might pretend to swim like an ancient fish. Karen Lewis created the colorful artwork for the book. Grandmother Fish guides both kids and adults through the amazing history of life on our planet. It shows how we are all connected through evolution.
Contents
Discovering Evolution's Story
This book is designed to make learning about evolution easy and fun. It includes several helpful parts to make the journey clearer for everyone.
- An illustration of the evolutionary tree of life. This diagram shows how different species are related.
- Special science notes for parents. These notes help grown-ups explain the concepts better.
- Tips on how to explain natural selection to a child. Natural selection is a key part of evolution. It describes how living things adapt to their environment over time.
Meet the Author and Illustrator
Jonathan Tweet, who is a professional game designer, started working on Grandmother Fish in 2000. He wanted to find a simple way to teach the basics of evolution to very young children.
Creating an Engaging Book
Tweet felt he made a big discovery when he added expressive movements to the book. Kids could crawl like a reptile or squeal like a mammal. He said, "My goal is to make evolution so adorable and attractive that kids want to believe it." He also shared his dream: "My dream is that children will love the idea that we are descended from animals and that all living things are our family."
Illustrations That Teach
It was tricky to find the right words for toddlers. For example, the word "lactate" (to produce milk) was hard to use. But the illustrator, Karen Lewis, found a clever solution. She drew a mother possum and her babies cuddling together. This picture showed the babies feeding without needing a difficult word.
Karen Lewis, the illustrator, wanted the animals in the book to be scientifically correct. But she also wanted them to be colorful and full of life. Her drawings help bring the story of evolution to life for young readers.
