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Dawkins unweaves the rainbow for children

There are 2,229 results for Noah’s Ark books on Amazon, most of which surely explain that the rainbow is God’s promise that he’ll never murder all of humanity again with a flood.

Now, Richard Dawkins, author of Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder and other books on biology, evolution, and religion, has announced the upcoming release of his children’s book, The Magic of Reality: How we know what’s really true. You can preorder it on Amazon (which I just did). You can also check out a preview of some of the text, including the illustrations, here.

Chapters include “What is a rainbow?,” “Who were the first man and woman?,” and “When did everything begin.” He contrasts answers provided by religious myths with answers provided by science. For example, when explaining the rainbow, he describes how water separates different wavelengths of light into each magnificent color.

I’m so pleased that Dawkins has written this book because there is such a need for accurate, evidence-based books appropriate for children. As Dawkins says in The God Delusion, “If there is something that appears to lie beyond the natural world as it is now imperfectly understood, we hope eventually to understand it and embrace it within the natural. As ever when we unweave a rainbow, it will not become less wonderful.”

Other freethought children’s books that I’d recommend are:

Dan Barker’s Maybe Yes, Maybe No: A guide for Young Skeptics, Maybe Right, Maybe Wrong: A guide for young thinkers, and Just Pretend: A freethought book for children.
Aching and Praying
Alexander Fox and the Amazing Mind Reader
Atheist Primer: Did you know that all the Gods Came from the Same P... This one is out of print, but if you call for Todd at American Atheists (908-276-7300), he can hook you up. I just ordered a copy from him. The full story is read on YouTube.
D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths
D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths
Humanism: What’s that?
Life on Earth: The story of evolution
Our Family Tree: An evolution story
The Turtle and the Universe
What About Gods?

Tags: books

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by egan thomas penney on May 11, 2011 at 10:03pm

i'd heard that hawking was going to try doing a children's book too, i wonder what's happened with that.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Zimmerman on May 11, 2011 at 10:11pm

Terrific! I found it – it’s called George’s Secret Key to the Universe. Thanks for mentioning it!

http://www.amazon.com/Georges-Secret-Universe-Stephen-Hawking/dp/14...

Permalink Reply by egan thomas penney on May 11, 2011 at 10:34pm

wow, i didn't even know he'd finished it. don't even remember where i'd heard of it...

that's got to be great for parental bragging rights. "my 5 year old reads hawking"

Permalink Reply by Atheist Andrea on August 4, 2011 at 3:00pm

Still a little too old for my kids so a board book would be great if anyone knows of any.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Zimmerman on August 4, 2011 at 4:08pm

Hi Andrea! How old is your little one? I've never seen any board books related to science, secularism, atheism, evolution, etc. Of the books that I'm aware of, Our Family Tree: An evolution story is the book geared to the youngest kids. The text is simple, while remaining accurate, the pictures are big and colorful, and even our 2-year-old enjoys it. If you come across other books in your search, keep us posted!

Permalink Reply by Vininger (Erin) on August 14, 2011 at 11:39am

Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story is definitely great for younger kids. Another awesome one is Ape by Martin Jenkins. My young kids (ages 2, 4, and 6) enjoyed both of those.

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