Charles Darwin’s On The Origin of Species: Young Reader Edition adapted by Rebecca Stefoff - OPTIONAL

Charles Darwin’s On The Origin of Species: Young Reader Edition adapted by Rebecca Stefoff, illustrated by Teagan White, 170 pages. NON-FICTION. Antheneum Books for Young Readers, 2018. $26

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

The text of this long format book is an adaptation of Darwin’s writing, while the captions and notes in the columns are outside of Darwin’s voice and explain the concepts on that page. There are a lot of subheadings that break up the text and at least one illustration per spread. 

I have not read the original text, so I may not be the best judge of this adaptation, but I found it very interesting and readable. The text is appropriate for a fifth grade reading level - there are not a lot of big words, but there are a lot of big concepts. My main concern with this book is its size. It will take some time and work for a young reader to get through this book, but unfortunately it is not easily portable or easy to hold because of it’s size and shape. I also found the illustrations on the muted and bland size. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher