The concept of evolution can be a little complicated for young ones to understand. This wondrous adventure delivers evolution to us through the story of one amazing lonely animal.
Once upon a time a million years ago there lived a tortoise named Giantess George. She lived in the desert of South America where she feasted on prickly cacti and other vegetation. Giantess George watched the Earth shift and change through earthquakes and volcanoes. She watched furry animals traveling over the paths where dinosaurs had once roamed. Then, the day came when Giantess George and other tortoises were swept up in the changing Earth and washed out to sea where they floated on tree rafts headed no one knew where and surviving on their own special abilities.
Told with dignity and a subtle touch of mystery and drama, this is the story of the magnificent tortoises who arrived at the end of their sea journey looking alike and sharing the same gene pool. But in response to nature's challenges these gentle, noble creatures began to develop longer necks or domed shells to adapt to their environments.
There is a magic to this story because it brings Giantess George to us as though we know her and we care about her. The tortoises so winsomely and warmly drawn by the incomparable Wendell Minor are large enough to connect to us personally.
What happened to the tortoises of the Galapagos Islands? Are they still there? Have you ever heard of Lonesome George? Wonderful questions invite us to recognize our own impact and stewardship potential. What animals now are hanging on the abyss of extinction? What can you do about it?
40 pages 978-0060287931 Ages 5-10
Pair it with ISLAND by Jason Chin or THE WOLVES ARE BACK by Jean Craighead George
Recommended by: Barb
