In this brilliantly executed book all the world is truly a stage and its history from the earliest beginnings to yesterday morning unfolds as an enthralling drama that readers of any age can pore over for hours.

A sequence of 35 magnificent full-color paintings shows the changing face of the earth from the first cataclysmic upheavals through the various ages of the tiny sea creatures, the flowering plants, the dinosaurs, the mammals, and finally the works of man. On facing pages, the graceful text and literally hundreds of sketches explain and amplify the action taking place on stage.

And as the story develops, the vast reaches of ancient time are gradually telescoped until the last four scenes cover only the space of one day, and at the very end the reader is himself subtly but surely drawn onto the stage. The Life Story of the earth becomes his own.

Into this book have gone eight years of scrupulous research and a lifetime of artistic skill. Virginia Lee Burton's unique ability to put meaning into the elusive passage of time will give any reader a firmer grasp of the history of our planet and a better sense of his own part in it. Here is a book to grow up with and to treasure for always.

Ages:

• To Look at: 4-6
• To Read Aloud: 6-10
• To Read to Yourself: 10 up

From the dust jacket