Publisher: Roaring Book Press/Macmillan (September 18, 2012)
Source: Personal Copy
Audience: Grades 2nd to 5th
Habitats * Evolution * Ecology * Nonfiction
Description from Publisher's Website:
Charles Darwin first visited the Galápagos Islands almost 200 years ago, only to discover a land filled with plants and animals that could not be found anywhere else on earth. How did they come to inhabit the island? How long will they remain?
Thoroughly researched and filled with intricate and beautiful paintings, this extraordinary book by Award-winning author and artist Jason Chin is an epic saga of the life of an island—born of fire, rising to greatness, its decline, and finally the emergence of life on new islands.
My thoughts on this book:
In my "It's Monday!" post, I mentioned to stop by and check out this post to see what book was a "WOW" for me. Here it is: Island: A Story of the Galápagos by Jason Chin. This is Chin's third book that he has written and illustrated. His first book Redwoods shared the story of the California Redwood Forest. Next came Coral Reefs, and now Island. With each book, Chin puts his own twist into the story. With Island, Chin starts with the Birth - Six Million Years Ago.
With the "eruption of a volcano, an island is born". - I love the colors and texture in this illustration.
Through a number of eruptions, and then the arrival of a seed, and the arrival of living creatures the evolution of this island moves forward.
I love how Chin moves from full page illustrations to smaller size ones and to even mid-size or half-page pictures. Each picture works to tell the story of this island over millions of years.
The combination of text and illustrations made this book just come alive for me. I just wanted to share it with others as I read it. Actually, I did share it with my bookseller friends while I was reading it in the store. I told them that this was one book that was coming home with me.
Part of what amazed me with this story was how the shrinking or growth of the island influenced the presence of wildlife or the changes in types of living creatures. Until eventually, there is no island.
Currently, there are 15 islands which will again grow and evolve over time.
If you pick up Island (and I hope you do), I encourage you to find his other titles as well. Look for all of Chin's books at your local library or pick up a copy for your favorite classroom or school library. Don't forget to shop Indie if you are able.
For more information about Jason Chin: website | facebook | twitter
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