Grandmother Fish

Grandmother Fish: A Child's First Book of Evolution was written by Jonathan Tweet. The book explains Charles Darwin's theory of common descent and its target audience is 3–5 years olds. It uses a call-and-response interaction between speaker and listener, where the child is asked to mimic the behavior of various animals from our evolutionary past. The book is illustrated by Karen Lewis with colored artwork. Grandmother Fish takes children and adults through the history of life on our planet and explains how we are connected..

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Overview

The book includes additional reading aids:

An illustration of the evolutionary tree of life.

Science notes for parents.

How to explain natural selection to a child.

About the Author

Jonathan Tweet, professionally a game designer, started working on this book in 2000. He was trying to figure out a way to teach the basics of evolution to little children. He felt a big breakthrough came when he incorporated expressive movements for the kids, such as having the kids crawl like a reptile or squeal like a mammal. Tweet said "My goal is to make evolution so adorable and attractive that kids want to believe it..My dream is that children will love the idea that we are descended from animals and that all living things are our family". Problems around language for toddlers was addressed through illustration “Nobody liked the verb ‘lactate.’ I had people tell me not to bring it up. But that’s the defining thing that makes us mammals,” Tweet recalled. He was able to use the verb “cuddle” instead because Lewis’s discreet illustration of a mother possum and her babies curled together in blissful circle suggests the babies are feeding. " The illustrator, Karen Lewis said she wanted the characters in the book to be scientifically accurate but also be colorful and have life.

Reception

"I knew this was a book I wanted on my daughters’ bookshelf. In short: it’s heads and shoulders above any evolution book for children that I've ever seen." - Stephanie Keep editor of "Reports of the National Center for Science Education"

"Grandmother Fish is a fun way to start children down a path of scientific literacy and, what's more, can help instill in them a vital sense of connection with the living world." - Barbara J. King, an anthropology professor at the College of William and Mary

“Groundbreaking” says School Library Journal. “This selection can be revisited again and again as students refine their understanding of evolution. Highly recommended for homes, schools, and libraries.” September 2016

“Congratulations on Grandmother Fish, which is a lovely contribution to scientific literacy.” Steven Pinker author of How the Mind Works and Better Angels of Our Nature.

“Much needed!” David Sloan Wilson,editor-in-chief of "Evolution: This View of Life"

“When my 5 year old daughter asked, “Who was the first person, and how was he or she borned?” I struggled to explain. Then I got Grandmother Fish, read it to her, and she loved it. This book fills a great need for parents, and answers a question many kids wonder about.” Jonathan Haidt, New York University, author of The Righteous Mind

Christian Today reported that the book " is receiving criticism for supposedly providing misleading information to delicate minds on where humans came from."

Dr. Georgia Purdom from "Answers in Genesis" said "While it is sad to see evolutionary resources like this book for children, it is very encouraging to see the many children’s resources.. help us teach our kids that the truth about our origins can only be found in the truth of God’s Word."

Publishing History

The book was funded by Kickstarter. They requested $12,000 on Kickstarter and received $36,000. It was first published in 2015. The original self published version sold out, then was picked up by a mainstream publisher. Macmillan released a second edition September 6, 2016.

References

Grandmother Fish Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA