The Story of Life on Earth

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

The Story of Life on Earth moves geology and anthropology from the
university and the museum to the early grades of primary school. This
generously illustrated book teaches children how life developed on
planet Earth. Author Margaret Munro, a prize-winning science writer for
the National Post, has refined her project in the classroom with the
help of young critics.

The story begins with planet earth as “a hostile place” vulnerable
to falling meteorites, comets, and active volcanoes. As it gradually
begins to “calm down,” the surface hardens “like the shell on a
giant egg.” Munro’s metaphors will appeal to young readers. So will
her educated guesses, such as the suggestion that life may have come to
Earth from another planet: “Single-celled organisms may have hitched a
ride on a meteorite or comet.”

Karen Reczuch is an award-winning illustrator who has worked closely
with paleontologists at the Royal Ontario Museum. Her gorgeous pastel
paintings will delight children. They spread over facing pages, with a
short text boxed off in a corner or on a strip, wherever the individual
illustrations can best accommodate them. The Story of Life on Earth is
an excellent introduction to a complex subject. Highly recommended.