A wonderful little book on Darwin. A very quick read. Darwin's upbringing, his search for his path in life, his voyage on the Beagle, his discoveries, his theories, his books, and his later life. All done very succinctly, and in an easy to read and understand manner that is very enjoyable. Wonderful illustrations. Perfect for middle school to high school readers. Makes me want to go back and reread "Voyage of the Beagle". Bravo!

A breezy but very informative read. Much less dry than some other children's titles that are out there about Darwin. Excellent illustrations too!

This was a great book to explain the biography of Charles Darwin.. The Illustrations are wonderful and the history of the Beagle, this ship Darwin sailed on was fascinating. I have not read about the Beagle before. I have read On The Origin of Species before.. This book does not shy away from the controversies of Darwin's beliefs and it explains the theory of evolution along with creationism very well. This is an excellent first biography for a child to learn about a scientist that has influenced so much of our modern world.

This is a beautiful book, both in terms of content and illustrations and perfect for children who are discovering history, science and those men and women who shaped the modern world. Even for me, as an adult reader, this book was exciting, as I was able to learn a bit more about Charles Darwin, the man who introduced the concept of evolution and natural selection.

Most of us probably learned, during our high-school classes, who Darwin was and how his theory sparked debate in the early 19th century. He was the man who presented the theory of evolution, which meant that species –animals, plants and humans– have evolved during millions of years to adapt to the environment and survive. This challenged the belief that everything was created by God and no change could have been possible as all was created “according to his image and likeness”. I can only imagine the great criticism Darwin drew in his time and the great scandal he caused and still does: even when I was a child, I recall my mother, a religious woman, claiming that it was blasphemy to suggest that humans could be related to apes. But that is another story.

The thing is, perhaps what most of us know about Darwin is what we learned in school as young children and teenagers, and When Darwin Sailed the Sea is a great book that should be available for younger audiences to discover in more depth Darwin’s story and achievements. The book is very easy to read but still contains relevant information on the scientist’s life, his travels and his findings. For example, it points out that Darwin was not an outstanding student –he first tried to study medicine, then religious studies– but he failed. He was most interested in seeing the world outside and exploring nature and the environment and there was where he found his true passion. I think this message is quite important in our times –we do not have to fit certain patterns or find our way as most people do: we should listen to our interests and passions and follow where they take us.

Overall, this book is very exciting to read as it takes us with Darwin through his life, travels and discoveries and it keeps the interest of the reader. Also, the illustrations are wonderful and beautiful and truly contribute to the reading experience –it was lovely to see Darwin on his travels on the Beagle, or writing down his diary, or standing on the middle of one of the islands of the Galapagos wondering about the strange and new nature he discovered whenever he turned around.

I hope this book can soon become available for Spanish-speaking audiences as well, as it is one of those books to treasure and contributes greatly to learning among younger audiences.

A very good book for older primary schoolchildren about the life, times and works of Charles Darwin. It succeeds in being a very good biography, and of course advocate for evolution, which still to this day makes it a gallingly important book for some people to be shown. I'm not sure some of the artworks were fully necessary, and the pull-quotes that allegedly make the pages look more engaging are pointless, in that you can never tell exactly when to read them in a way that doesn't spoil the flow of the main text. Still, the story of the Beagle's voyages is very nicely presented, Darwin's ideas clearly shown (Wallace gets to carry his coffin, and a small slot in an appendix of notable people in Darwin's sphere), and the important lesson about the truth of the matter is irrefutable.

Clearly written, informative text and large, supportive illustrations make this story of Darwin’s travels on the Beagle and his discoveries an important book to read. The author takes time to explain Darwin’s findings and the significance of his work on evolution, The book even reaches beyond the focus on Darwin’s story to include a discussion of the people who befriended him and supported his work. The inviting format, engaging style, and the significance of the material make this book a winner.

This book is a biography about Charles Darwin's life.
And not only does it provide insight on the great man's life,but it also enchants us with beautiful illustrations!!!
5 stars!

What if Darwin didnt mind the sight of blood during an operation. Who would be our next Darwin?
Very well doen illustrations, filling the page with electricity.
sympiesometer - a barometer that travels well on the sea.

How many iron guns can be loaded on a ship without affecting the captain's compass?
Clinometer is used to measure angle of elevation.
Funny that Darwin tried to lasso his own horse.

When I learned of the squirrels of North side of grand Canyon being different from the south side, I can imagine how Darwin would have felt when he was told that the tortoises on the different islands of Galapagos could be identified by their shell patterns. Finches study is a deep experience. Bird watchers will love this book.

Two days of travellign on train made the sound ring in my ears for a couple of days later. I cannot imagine how surreal the experience of being on the Beagle for 5 years while being bombarded with all unbelievable flora and fauna would have been. 1500 is a lot of speicmen to analyse. He did a smart thing by taking help from all quarters.

The illustrations in the book deserve a special mention. There's art as well as the sense of discovery and love for nature and adventure.

I thought this book was a nice biography on Charles Darwin, I really liked the illustrating style but I think it needs to be marketed to an older age like 9-14 or even 11+ I tried reading it with my 8 year old and it was way beyond his reading level and also his attention level. It would be a good classroom/library resource but I don't see a lot of kids owning it for fun. Again I really liked the illustrating and I think it covered the material well.

Charles Darwin, the man who changed the face of science and inheritance for once and last.
This book is considered as a biography of Charles Darwin and in my opinion it could be an introduction to Darwin's world and theory of natural selection.
I liked the illustrations and the writing style and I really recommend it to children, adolescents, adults and anyone wants to know about the career of a great man.

This book was wonderful. The information was interesting and the illustrations were beautiful. I enjoyed learning more about Darwin's path through life.

This book is lovely, well written and well illustrated. It’s a little more in depth than many that follow a similar style, which was a good thing. Ks2 children would love this. It contains a lot of information, in a concise way that would make it ideal as a topic book.

Well written biography of Charles Darwin's time on the Beagle, where he was horribly seasick. It doesn't go into depth about the five year voyage, but it does touch on the things he saw and the animal specimens he collected.

Wonderful introduction to this amazing man. I didn't know, for example, that he had to pay his own way, on the voyage, nor how long it took. He had trained to be first a doctor, then a minister, though he was never really interested in either, but coming from a well to do family, that is what you are supposed to do.

Though this book doesn't go into great detail, it give the essence of why this voyage was so important, and what sort of things he saw that helped him develop his theory of evolution. Enjoyable read. Recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.