Grow: Secrets of Our DNA; Nicola Davies

Nicola Davies and Emily Sutton are a superb duo who produce beautiful books and this is another delightful read. Grow is a celebration of life’s big family on earth and explores how and why things grow.

Everything that is living on earth grows and how things grow helps them to survive in their environment. Not everything grows at the same speed, for example there are flowers that grow in just 10 days, fish that grow to the size of your little finger and lay eggs in 15 days, trees that take years to grow just a small amount and live for over 4,000 years, clams that take 500 years to grow to the size of your palm. The world is full of amazing growing things. Some are even more amazing in that they grow into something new - seeds grow into fruits and vegetables, caterpillars grow into butterflies.

The first part of the book details things that grow and the reasons behind their growth. The second part of the book explores DNA and how DNA makes us all unique. As humans we all have similar body parts but everything about us is unique. DNA is the reason why we have noses, hair, and eyes that all appear a certain way and why we all have unique fingerprints. Our DNA genetic code is amazing, and Davies and Sutton break down a very tricky concept and simplify it for young children.

The simple explanations and story telling open up the world of DNA to younger readers. The artwork and illustrations by Emily Sutton, is as always, first-class and accompanying captions provide clear and concise explanations. A great Afterword explains how all humans start off as a single cell and then grow to 26 billion cells and then grow to a number of cells that is so big it’s hard to describe.

A fabulous book to introduce the concept of DNA and growth to younger readers.

Recommended for 5+