Life Story

I was searching for a really good book about dinosaurs for my almost 4 year old daughter who has just developed an interest in prehistoric creatures, when I stumbled onto this book. We own other titles by Burton, The Little House, Katy and the Big Snow, and Calico the Wonder Horse, and love them all. But I think this book is the best. Why? Because, for my daughter, who demands daily readings, it has cracked the world of science wide open, spurring question after question about everything from meteors to the different types of rock, volcanoes, weather, the solar system, and on and on. Using the format of an engaging story, Burton has managed to touch on each of these subjects, and more, and pack so much information into a mere 80-pages. But it's not just rote information, it is a story, it is a play, and it is presented in such an entertaining way that it paves the path for a young child begin a journey of discovery that is integral to a life-long love and understanding of natural history and of the composition of the world around them. Burton's story begins 'eons and eons ago' when 'our sun was born.' Each page is laid out with the left side containing a one-paragraph description of the period of time being sampled. This is paired with a tri-color visual narrative of what is happening, be it a 5-sketch demonstration of lava erupting from the Earth's core or the evolutionary progression of invertebrate organisms, plants, or animals. The drawings create almost a (slow) motion picture to accompany the words. The left page is dedicated to a full-color scene, set behind a stage, complete with drawn-aside red velvet curtain, and a curious little man examining the different goings-on. He, too, becomes more modern as the story progresses. Something that I love about the format of this book is that the book begins by capturing snapshots of different periods of time that are very far apart; the first two documented time periods are 560,000,000 years apart. Mid-way through the book, the scenes are only 3,200,000 apart, and finally, by the end of the book, time slows down to 100 years, then 25, then 15, then each of the four seasons, then it is slowed to days, hours, and finally the final dark minutes before the sun rises and a new dawn is upon us. Early on, as time slows, Burton introduces her family into the story, and you find that this is her life story. On the final pages, as the story she has to tell draws to a close, Burton turns the story over to you, the reader, because it is your life story too. That last poetic touch is so beautiful, so perfect, that it leaves me in awe of the woman who wrote this book. I don't think that this book could have been written, presented, and illustrated better. Every part just 'fits.' The ending, I believe in time, will help my child to understand where she fits into this story, and perhaps she, as I do, will feel that warm swell of love toward our home, our Earth, and all the life that has walked upon it, and gratitude that she has a place among such a brilliant history.

"Life Story" is a beautiful depiction of the history of the Earth, from the initial formation of the Solar System 4.5 billion years ago to the "present" (5:33 am on May 6th, in rural New England USA). A charming aspect of the book is that it's framed as a play on a stage, with each page showing a "scene". The scenes start out as geologic periods, then epochs, then become shorter and shorter as the book moves from geologic history to human history. Most Virginia Lee Burton books (Mike Mulligan, Katy and the Big Snow, etc.) are suitable for preschoolers. "Life Story" is pitched to a slightly older demographic (8-12 years, more or less). Some younger children might love it, but others might not be ready. The scenes featuring prehistoric animals and plants - cephalopods swimming through an Ordovician waterway, a Carboniferous forest of giant cycads - are a gift to the reader's imagination. In the Oligocene, a herd of small proto-horses step out of the scenery to greet the narrator. It's very peaceful and charming; even the carnivores seem to be posing for the audience rather than threatening. The scenes from human history become increasingly specific to a rural community in New England, perhaps Burton's own home in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Children who live in a city or suburb, or in a very different locale, might find this cozy Yankee landscape somewhat alien or exotic. Burton does illustrate a Wampanoag village at the time of arrival of Europeans, but the text somewhat awkwardly refers to the "discovery" of the New World. Subsequent scenes show the development of the region's characteristic small farms, the abandonment of those farms in the early 20th century, and the arrival of a new wave of homesteaders restoring the farms a generation later. The "science" in the illustrations has generally held up well, and the text has been lightly updated to reflect new discoveries, such as mentioning the K-T meteor impact that ended the reign of the dinosaurs. Highly recommended, especially for children ages 8-12 with an interest in science and nature.

I read this book almost 20 years ago in the first grade and was immediately hooked on natural history, dinosaurs, life sciences, and the like, not to mention storytelling itself. The illustrations are entrancing and the format--the history of life as a play in several acts on a world stage--is enthralling. It's highly informative, too, for a young reader (or even an old one), and it was one of the most memorable and entertaining "educational" books I read as a child. Now out of college, I have recently repurchased it for nostalgia and read it again. It remains a wonderful work. Being from 1961, it is slightly dated in spots. For example, it says that there is no record of life 2 billion years ago, whereas today we have found lifeforms dating back twice that far. Also, the dinosaurs' extinction is attributed to a cooling climate, because at the time the meteor theory was not widely accepted. But this of course is nitpicking. The ultimate point of the book is that it's an introduction to the history of our planet and everything on it, including us. The central message--that our own life stories fit into the grand tapestry of life's history--remains. This is a remarkable book, and paticularly if you have a young child, I highly recommend picking up a copy.

Ilustraciones preciosas, texto muy bonito. Desde el origen del mundo hasta nuestros días explicado de forma muy original. Tapa blanda.

良くここまで詳細に地史を描けたなぁと思いました。執筆期間が8年とのことで綿密な調査があったものと思います。また、Lee Burtonさんの作品は本当に手が込んでいて何度読んでも新たな発見があるところが楽しいです。英語と日本語両方買って、両方の語感を楽しんでいます。

Really enjoy the feelings evoked in this tale of the evolution of life on earth to the present day culminating in and starring the child reading the book in the present moment. It has magic. It is a longer read than Mike Mulligan, we often read it over 2 days for our little ones to get them used to the concept of reading longer chapter books. That way we can linger on the artwork and talk about what the kids think. I have one problem with this book, in terms of updating the accuracy of the content. I use it as a teaching moment and stop. Pg. 45 & 47 which talk about Europeans discovering the New World - they didn't. It glosses by the existence of First Nations people in a way that needs to be addressed for ethical reasons in the timeline of humanity. Silence condones the damage of colonialism and denies the truth. I believe Virginia would have written this differently if she had been educated today. I tell my kids there is a mistake in this book, and the author probably made it unintentionally simply because all the published history books back then purposefully misled kids and gave them a distorted world view. Then we give acknowledgement to the Coast Salish People on whose unceded territory our community sits where we are at this moment, and carry on with the story. The magic in the book still overcomes this enough for a 5 rating, and indeed allows us to address it in conversation. Love Virginia Lee Burton.

The drawings and story format are so dated, but I love vintage and retro style, not to mention how much I always loved Virginia Lee Burton books as a child, so I was really pleased to get this book for my 3 and 4 year old! The story was long winded, as is typical with Ms. Burton, but we read it as a supplement to a unit we are doing on earth formation and leading into evolution and dinosaurs. I found my 3 year old referring back to it later on his own and telling ME which dinosaurs were which. A great way to explain the Big Bang Theory, ice age, a time line, evolution, geology, biology, all sorts. I was also really happy to learn that it's been updated to reflect modern research too- for example, I expected to see a brontosaurus, but that was taken out as it's since been decided that it was something else. Obviously I need to look it up again. haha Great book for kids who's interest in our planet and how things came about has piqued, maybe not so much for kids who are TV junkies and want Scooby Doo all the time. Not judging, just saying.

This is a beautifully illustrated story of "you" the reader from an evolutionary perspective. It starts off at the beginning of life and runs through the various evolutionary eras. From fish to amphibians to dinosaurs to prehistoric mammals to humans to farmers to modern dwellers, this book starts off as an evolutionary tour of humanity and ends with the reader at home with this book. It makes a fascinating tale for children (and adults) as it ties evolution directly to the reader. It is aimed at a North American audience (include settlers as part of the thread), but that's not a major issue. The illustrations are lush and creative. This is not a book for anatomical correctness. It's more about impressions of past animals, and it is really cool in that regard. I think this would make an excellent introduction to human evolution for children given it's gentle presentation of the science, the interest of the different eras, the uniqueness of the drawing style, and the fact that it ultimately brings it back home to the reader. A fun book worthy of five stars!