SuitabookChoose Your Own Evolution
Jules Howard
- Reading
- Begin with the introductory guide to evolution, then let the child choose a route without aiming for a particular ending. Afterwards, use the tree diagram to trace connections and revisit alternatives.
- Themes
- Evolution as choice: The reader selects among options that lead from one organism to another across the evolutionary tree. The interactive structure appears to make evolutionary pathways tangible and engaging, while the choices are a teaching device rather than evidence that organisms consciously choose evolution.
- Extinction and survival: Journeys may end with extinction or with a survivor animal, and the final diagram distinguishes those outcomes. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Human place in the tree of life: One possible route leads to a human, alongside routes leading to animals including penguins, butterflies, reptiles and woodlice. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Some routes end in extinction and others in a survivor animal. A child may want to talk about how ‘survival’ is presented, and whether a preferred outcome is necessarily the most valuable one.