Life Through Time: The 700-Million-Year Story of Life on Earth by John Woodward is a book that uses panoramic images to tell the story of life on Earth, from its earliest origins to the present day. The amazing story of life's evolution begins in vast oceans and swamp forests and is shaken by dramatic extinctions caused by ice, violent volcanic eruptions, and meteor impacts. It explores geological time and the origins of species that still exist today in early fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals. It takes readers up to the appearance of our first human ancestors around 6 million years ago, the evolution of hunter-gathering Homo sapiens in the Ice Age, Stone Age farmers, the earliest civilization in Mesopotamia, the effects of the Industrial Revolution on the natural world, and people living with nature in the modern world.
Life Through Time is a book that makes great use of bold, full page images depicting the development of life on our planet. The images have great detail, and every time I look I see something that I had not noticed before. I thought that the texted was well done, accessible and interesting. The little snippets pulling out images and extra information about specific creatures or features were also very well done. A great deal was covered, but thanks to the artwork the depth of information in those little paragraphs never became overwhelming. I thought the chart at the very end of the book that showed how the planet has shifted and changed just as much as the life that calls it home was a nice addition. A great deal of time was covered in just over thirty pages, I would have loved to see it extend just a bit longer into human civilization. We make up such a short part of this planet's history that one page more would have been enough, but I understand why thy might not have done so.
Overall, I really enjoyed Life Through Time and think it will appeal to many young readers. It would be well loved in a public, school, or personal library. 
