Once,
long, long ago …
there were two finches,
Susanah and Pico,
who lived far, far away
in a forest near the sea.

They were very happy finches as they loved to eat their favourite delicious seeds among the tall grasses. But one day, when they were flying happily around looking for a new place to build their nest, a powerful storm with big winds and pouring rain swept them far away from their home. After many days they landed on another island but where were they? And everything was so different! There were strange-looking seabirds, very odd lizards and prickly cactus. But our two little finches didn’t mind. They settled in, built a nest and had their first brood of chicks. And over the years had many more.

But now comes the interesting bit. Most of the baby birds were born looking just like their parents, but as the years passed, many were born with different shaped beaks that were perfectly suited to their favourite foods. And as the years passed the finches looked so different from our first two, Susanah and Pico.

No wonder our Mr Charles Darwin was so excited when he set foot on the Galapagos Islands. And hopefully, this wonderfully illustrated book, so simply told, will excite us, our teachers and children, as it introduces us all to the concept of evolution and natural selection.

I do hope it will be in every library.

Reviewed by Merle Morcom
Age Guide 5+

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Allan Binney is a science communicator based in Adelaide, Australia. He has long been personally interested in evolutionary biology and professionally involved in science. He studied environmental science at Adelaide University and currently works in the field of crop genetics.

Allan seeks to encourage curiosity, critical thinking, and wonder of the natural world in all people. Mr Darwin’s Birds is his first book and was written for little learners everywhere. The aim of the book was to creatively illustrate one of the core concepts of science in a manner that is accessible and engaging for young children.

He is also interested in the world of podcasts and audio-books. Allan has read 3 chapters for Librivox.org, which is a great website for free audiobooks – see link below.

In his spare time, Allan enjoys practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, rock-climbing and exploring the outdoors. He reads widely and has interests across a range of fields, such as psychology, anthropology, history and religion.

Visit A J Binney’s website