Moth: An Evolution Story (2018) by Isabel Thomas and Daniel Egneus

I try to write book reviews about really recent publications, but this book keeps ending up in my library haul. My kids love it and so do I. Think it’s impossible to teach a 5 year-old about evolution, natural selection and adaptation? It’s not. This is a simple story about the peppered moth. “Six little legs uncurled. Two tiny antennae unfurled. And four salt and pepper wings stretched and quivered in the breeze. But hungry predators were nearby.” Isabel Thomas takes the reader on a journey - from the moment a moth breaks out of the cocoon, it is concerned about survival. Predators lurk in the night sky and predators swoop in the sunshine. So, moths hide against tree bark. Moths with dark wings were easily spotted and plucked up by birds. So, over time, the perfectly camouflage speckled moths thrived. Until….the Industrial Revolution. The pollution from coal-powered trains and factories made the darker-winged peppered moths less noticeable on the black-sooted tree bark. So, over time, the dark-winged peppered moths thrived. Adaptation at its finest. Sure enough, people realized the environment needed cleaning…and the trees got cleaner and the cycle repeated. 

Heart: My favorite part of the book is the end. Isabel Thomas ends with, “They are still telling their story… of light and dark, of change and adaptation, of survival and hope.” After all, aren’t all survival stories about hope? So eloquently put, Isabel. 

Head: Use this book in any classroom, at any age! Honestly, a high school teacher could use this book as a fun intro to an evolution unit. On the other end of the spectrum, I read this to my daughter last year and she STILL talks about how the moths use tree bark to camouflage themselves and hide from predators.