And here, that science is gracefully combined with superb illustrative art.

But it’s based on the best and most recent available science. A certain amount of the chronology, Chin explains, is necessarily speculative. Much of this is explored in appendixes on Darwin, the islands and the islands’ endemic species. (He is shown on the Beagle visiting the islands in 1835.) And so we see not only what grows and develops, but also what becomes obsolete and disappears. Roaring Brook/Flash Point/Porter, 16. It shrinks and then disappears beneath the waves, survived by 15 other large islands in the vicinity collectively known by that name, so closely associated with Charles Darwin. Then comes a surprise: The island we’ve been tracking is not part of the Galápagos we know today. With directness and simplicity, Chin describes the forces that enact change over time a sequence explaining how the native finch population tends to favor larger beaks is an expertly rendered vision of Darwinism. As she turns the pages in this book about coral reefs, the city around her slips away and she finds herself surrounded by the coral cities of the sea and the mysterious plants and animals that live, hunt, and hide there. New species continue to find their way to the island outpost, whether lost, escaped or driven away from their birthplaces. With the same blend of magical realism and natural history that he used to such brilliant effect in his Redwoods, picture-book author/artist Jason Chin spins. Coral Reefs: A Journey Through an Aquatic World Full of Wonder Paperback Picture Book, by Jason Chin (Author, Illustrator) 137 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle 8.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover 99.99 2 New from 99. Visual indication that the title is an audiobook. Throughout, Chin’s sumptuous watercolors evoke the landscape and its evolving menagerie of birds, tortoises and land iguanas.

Coral reefs by jason chin