Moth

This powerful and visually spectacular book tells a remarkable story of evolution. It captures the struggle of animal survival in our evolving human world. It is an atmospheric introduction to Darwin’s Natural Selection theory, with a simple, explanatory text and brilliant, graphic illustrations.

The peppered moth, back in the early 1800s, was light with speckled wings. During the day, their wings provided brilliant camouflage as they
rested on lichen-covered tree trunks. Occasionally, a dark form emerged, but these were easily spotted by birds, and were easy prey, so their
numbers decreased. Throughout the Industrial Revolution, an enormous increase in pollution killed off lichens, and tree trunks became coated with layers of soot. Therefore the converse happened; the dark form of speckled moth was now well camouflaged, and became the more likely to survive and pass on darkness to their offspring. Over time, the dark form became more prevalent. By the middle of the 20th
century, laws were passed to reduce air pollution from smoke and soot. As a result, the proportion of light speckled moths rose, as trees shed their sooty bark and lichens regrew.

This amazing natural selection is dramatically told through an excellent marriage between the text and the illustrations. It is certainly a book which will be perused time and again by those many young readers interested in the changing world around us, interested in the effect human enterprise has upon other forms of life. The illustrations offer a perfect introduction to the concept of creatures adapting, and evolving, to survive and endure within our complicated world. It ends with the word, HOPE. A truly wonderful book.