To begin with, there are the amazing endpapers, in which artist Beckie Prange has condensed 4.6 billion years of earth’s history into a visual timeline using 46 meters of string laid out in tight arcs and whorls, with different colors representing different geologic eras. Each of the subjects that follow in this extraordinary collection that is both poetry and natural history are placed on the timeline at the point they first appeared on the earth. And what do bacteria, mollusks, lichens, beetles, grasses, ants, sharks, squirrels, dandelions, humans and the other living things profiled in this volume all have in common? They are survivors, displaying resilience and the ability to thrive. In finely crafted poems that reflect a variety of forms, Joyce Sidman invites readers to contemplate these natural wonders with appreciation, curiosity, and good humor. Brief biological information about each subject is provided in an accompanying factual narrative, and Prange’s hand-colored linocut illustrations are both beautiful and informative. (Ages 9–13)