Do you want to explain evolution and natural selection to your child? Are you teaching evolution at KS2/upper elementary? Here are my favourite children’s books about evolution that will inform and captivate!
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Amazing Evolution – The Journey of Life by Anna Claybourne
Amazing Evolution is packed with information about adaptation, pre-historic life, and evolution (including humans). It also looks at the work of scientists Darwin and Wallace. It is beautifully illustrated by Wesley Robins (seriously, it’s gorgeous). The pictures really add to its appeal, rather than making it feel like a book for younger students. The book also touches on genetics for those children wanting more information.
- Hardcover Book
- Claybourne, Anna (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 80 Pages – 04/09/2019 (Publication Date) – Ivy Kids (Publisher)
Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, retold by Sabina Radeva
The original ‘On the Origin of Species’ book by Charles Darwin provides the foundations to evolutionary biology, but it was written for adults. Enter Sabina Radeva and her re-telling of this famous scientific book in a way that makes it accessible for kids.
I love that this book contains quotes from the original text. The explanations of Darwin’s work, tree of life, finches, and natural selection are wonderfully illustrated.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- English (Publication Language)
- 64 Pages – 10/29/2019 (Publication Date) – Crown Books for Young Readers (Publisher)
Moth, an Evolution Story by Isabel Thomas
One of the best real-life examples of evolution by natural selection is the story of the peppered moth. Isabel Thomas’s ‘Moth’ is described as ‘a story of light and dark, of change and adaptation, of survival and hope’. It certainly lives up to that. The stunning illustrations make it look like a storybook but this non-fiction read delivers clear scientific information in a way that children can understand.
It also lends itself well to follow-up work creating and camouflaging your own moths in the classroom or school grounds.
- Hardcover Book
- Thomas, Isabel (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 48 Pages – 06/25/2019 (Publication Date) – Bloomsbury Children’s Books (Publisher)
You can watch Isabel Thomas read Moth here.
Evolution by Sarah Darwin, Eva Maria-Sadowski, and Olga Baumert (Illustrator)
Author Sarah Darwin is the great-great-granddaughter of Charles Darwin himself! As well as being a scientist who has spent time studying plant life on the Galapagos, she’s a trained artist.
Suitable for children aged 8 +, this book covers the work of Darwin, and naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.
Take a fascinating journey through different geological periods, exploring the plants and animals of the past. With wonderful illustrations and amazing facts, this book succeeds in presenting millions of years of history in an accessible way.
- Hardcover Book
- Darwin, Sarah (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 64 Pages – 09/05/2023 (Publication Date) – What on Earth Books (Publisher)
Other resources you might like
Before you start teaching evolution, you might want to check out my blog post all about common misunderstandings children may have around the subject.
You can also check out my Charles Darwin resources on TeachersPayTeachers here.
