Oxford Reading Tree TreeTops inFact: Level 18: The Misadventures of Charles Darwin

An accessible biography of Charles Darwin with chapter headings to entice and interest children. From stinky schoolboy to seasick sailor, Darwin's life is told and the importance of his discoveries in the context of the time explained. This latter is important as children will not necessarily be aware of the controversy Darwin's theory caused. This book is longer as it is aimed at slightly older children, but is broken down into chunks so would not need to be read solidly. Facts are made interesting such as, 'Had Darwin been alive today, he'd have loved social media!'. Much could be made in the classroom of getting children to write blogs or tweets from Darwin from his voyage. The cover on this book looks just like a nature journal, with the well known portrait of Darwin as an old photograph. This theme continues inside with Darwin's notes sometimes as he wrote them, sometimes a mock up of a journal. Drawings of various personalities feature as comic characters. 48 pages / Oxford level 18 / Ages 10/11 years / Reviewed by Dawn Woods, librarian.

Suggested Reading Age 9+