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Darwin the Lungfish –
Evolutionary learning for children – Critical thinking
The Atheists reissue the Danish pearl of a children’s book – ”Darwin the lungfish”, drawn and written by the author and illustrator Erik Hjorth Nielsen. In cooperation with the Humanist Association, the book is being printed for dissemination in schools and kindergartens, to teach the theory of evolution and develop children’s ability to critical thinking. They want to strengthen the children’s resilience to religious insult and stupidifying views.
English version is made with language assistance from Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK.
Ateistene (Norwegian atheists) is an organization for people who do not believe in gods or belong to any religion. We work to promote tolerance and human dignity and we fight against religious intolerance. We work to promote people’s possibilities to embrace life and to stimulate free thought. We work for freedom to choose one’s way of life which includes freedom of religion as well as freedom from religion.
By appealing to human compassion and common sense and by criticizing religious delusions we want to contribute to a better society and happier people.
The book is an exceptionally charming and instructive report on the development of life on earth, designed and written by the late Danish artist Erik Hjorth Nielsen. It was first published in Danish in 1992 by the author and Agertoft publisher. It was later published in Norwegian with the publisher Grøndahl Dreyer (now Cappelen). The book is sold out in both countries, and publishers have no plans for a new release. The Atheists will, in agreement with the author’s wife, spread the book. We have a stock
of 1000 copies in English, and we also plan to get it printed in other languages.
More and more Europeans confess to the belief that God – not evolution – has created man. Creationist activists are undermining the entire scientific community, warns Danish researcher.
In Norway, about 11 percent of the population do not believe that evolution has taken place in the animal kingdom, and in the United States, about 50 percent believe that the world was created a few thousand years ago.
The Quran clearly states that the creation of man was a separate, unique act, and to the extent that evolutionary teachings deny this, it becomes obscene from an Islamic point of view, says researcher Nora S. Eggen.
The book can be ordered from . The price of 190 NOK includes postage. It can be ordered in both Norwegian and English editions.
If you order 10 or more, you will receive the books for 100 NOK pr piece + postage.
We want contact with English spoken atheists and secular organizations for sharing this book in particular and generally understanding of evolution all over, and especially amongsts children.
Please contact us:
Dagfinn Eckhoff, (+47) 47 26 43 41,
Stand-up comedian and actor Aila Eckhoff Sinober read the book as a child and writes:
When I was little, my parents read Darwin the Lungfish for me. And I read it later myself many times. The book was a glimpse of something that took place hundreds of thousands, even millions of years ago. A story
that explained to me how we have evolved and how the earth and everything on it has become as it is. To hear and read this story as a child felt like being consecrated in a very important secret. But this should not be secret.
Tales of Eve and Adam, Jesus, Noah or, for that matter, The Easter Hare and Santa Claus are readily available to children raised in both religious and secular homes. They are found on television, in kindergartens and at school and are part of the self-sufficiency of the advent, regardless of whether they are presented as mythical figures or truth. The Big Bang and the theory of evolution, the Earth’s extinction and the origins of human beings are something that you will not learn before you are older. And then it will be presented in a much more edgy and, not least, complicated way. Is there any good reason that it is this way?
I believe that we belittle the children’s curiosity and imagination, and underestimate their ability to find excitement and adventure even in the most edgy places, too. I also think we underestimate how incredible and amazing reality actually is. I see no reason to say nothing about it.
The Darwin lungfish is the story of the first lungfish that scratched up the land soil to escape the dangers of the sea and all the countless animals that came afterwards. This is our story, about the people, about you and me. And about those who came afterwards. Darwin the lungfish is both the largest and one of the smallest stories available.