Charles and Emma Darwin are the focus of this week's curriculum tie-in.
Three cheers for the Young Adult title Charles and Emma : the Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman. The Darwins are an example of how opposites attract. He was neat and organized. She was disorganized and messy.
Because he was developing a theory about evolution, he was harboring many doubts about religion. She was a religious woman who worried whether her husband would be with her in the afterlife. Nevertheless they had a happy marriage and she supported his work.
This book was a labor of love for the author, Deborah Heiligman. Listen to her talk about this in her acceptance speech for the YALSA 2010 Printz Awards.
She and her husband also discuss religion and science. Like Emma Darwin, she too found the right partner in life.The librarian in me absolutely needs to share how she did her research.
And if you prefer audiobooks, Charles and Emma is now available in this format.
Great review! I heard Deborah Heiligman speak about this book at a SCBWI conference -- fascinating to learn about her approach and research.
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating in Nonfiction Monday!
I loved this book, too. Thought it was an interesting way to look at Darwin's work and make him more human (husband, father).
ReplyDeleteTammy
Apples with Many Seeds
I have another book to borrow from our library! I didn't know about this book. Did you know about the recent Peter Sis' picturebook biography of Charles Darwin? It would be a great tie-in to your curriculum and a quick read-aloud as well for children.
ReplyDelete