Thinking whimsically makes serious science accessible. That's a message that should be taken to heart by all readers who want to learn about evolution. This book invites readers into serious appreciation of Darwinian histories by deploying the playful thinking found in children's books. The book weds children's literature to recent research in paleontology and evolutionary biology. Inquiring into the origins of origins stories, the book presents three portraits of Charles Darwin—curious child, twentysomething adventurer, and elderly worm scientist. Chapters focusing on the origins of tetrapods ... More

Thinking whimsically makes serious science accessible. That's a message that should be taken to heart by all readers who want to learn about evolution. This book invites readers into serious appreciation of Darwinian histories by deploying the playful thinking found in children's books. The book weds children's literature to recent research in paleontology and evolutionary biology. Inquiring into the origins of origins stories, the book presents three portraits of Charles Darwin—curious child, twentysomething adventurer, and elderly worm scientist. Chapters focusing on the origins of tetrapods, elephants, whales, and birds explain fundamental Darwinian concepts with examples of fossil history and comparative anatomy. The imagery of the children's story offers a way to remember and recreate scientific discoveries. By juxtaposing Darwin's science with tales for children, the book underscores the importance of whimsical storytelling to the accomplishment of serious thinking. Darwin mused about duck beaks and swimming bears as he imagined a pathway for the origin of baleen. A “bearduck” chimera may be a stretch, but the science linking not just cows but also whales to moose through shared ancestry has great merit. By calling attention to surprising and serendipitous echoes between children's stories and challenging science, the book demonstrates how playful thinking opens the doors to an understanding of evolutionary thought.