Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 10/01/2019 *Starred Review* Microbiologist and illustrator Radeva offers young readers an adapted and illustrated version of this seminal work. After identifying several Darwin contemporaries who also studied natural selection, the author notes Darwin's HMS Beagle expedition, and points to the 20 years he spent refining and recording his ideas. She defines species (pointing out the individual variations they exhibit) and notes that permanent species change can occur as a result of natural selection or intentional breeding. She also touches upon survival of the fittest and extinction; describes the concept of common ancestors; explains why fossils are so rare; observes how instinctual behaviors such as migration are also tied to evolution; and clarifies the ways in which similar features (such as leg bones) may present differently (i.e., fins) in some species. The text is brief, allowing the detailed, often patterned illustrations to serve as a visual narrative. The layout is particularly appealing, utilizing captioned art, speech balloons, and short quotations from the original that provide readers with a good grounding on this topic. Appended with an author's note, explanations of recent scientific discoveries that differ from Darwin's ideas, a glossary, and clarifications of Darwinism misconceptions, this is a beautiful introduction to a complex topic that should find a wide audience. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.