Well, obviously this book is controversial because it's about Darwin, his life and his belief about evolution. This book was really complex. It was like two to three stories going on at once. There was his public life story, private life story, and secret life story. This was a picture book but it was a very complex picture book. The pictures were very abstract and the story was not written for a little child to follow, but perhaps like a sixth grader, junior high student, or even a high schooler. Within each page there is just so much going on that it is hard to keep everything straight. There is all kinds of diary entries and letters that he has written to other people. This book gives Darwin's side of the story primarily but it also gives a little bit about some people that stood up against his belief. I don't think the author is trying to say that Darwin is right or wrong but just giving a biography of his life. I think I would use this in my classroom if I were talking about evolution in science and just give kids the background of the person who helped develop this idea and that this perspective is neither right or wrong but it's a popular belief among people in our society. I think it's important not to force the idea on anyone but rather just make students aware of it, because they are likely to stubble across the idea somewhere. I would also make sure to send a letter home with the students or at the beginning of the year letting parents know that we will be talking about evolution briefly, just so parents know that you aren't trying to hide anything or teach their children something that they are highly against.
I read a book similar to this called "Our Family Tree" and it was about evolution as well. I think it is a great idea to send a note home to parents before you present this book and I also think it is a great way to incorporate it into a discussion in science. However, when I was thinking about the book I read I was unsure about using it in a classroom because I didn't want to promote one view point over another. If I were to present a book about evolution to my class I think it would be good to only use it briefly to discuss Darwin's lofe and where he got his ideas. I would worry that, although you said you wouldn't give them the perspective that it is right or wrong, that students would feel like if their view point (possibly creationism) wasn't discussed or pointed out in class like evolution was, that they would feel they were wrong or that they shouldn't talk about it. Along with that, I know there have been a lot of debates within schools about whether it is okay to teach evolution and creationism or just evolution, etc. and I know that it would be hard to discuss creationism without crossing the line between religious boundaries. I think that your idea of presenting this book from more of a biographical view point would be the best way to approach this issue.
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