How and where did life begin on Earth? What makes Earth capable of sustaining living creatures? This information-rich book takes readers billions of years into the past to understand the earliest life-forms on Earth. They'll delve deeply into essential science topics such as geological time, evolution, and animal classification. Intricate illustrations and 3-D images transport readers to a time before humans walked the earth. Engaging fact boxes highlight...

When Arnold wishes he had more information for his family tree, Ms. Frizzle revs up the Magic School Bus and the class zooms back to prehistoric times. First stop: 3.5 billion years ago! There aren't any people around to ask for directions. Luckily Ms. Frizzle has a plan, and the class is right there to watch simple cells become sponges and then fish and dinosaurs, then mammals and early primates and, eventually, modern humans. It's the longest class...

"What is life? How did it start? Long, long ago, no one knows exactly where or when, a tiny bubble formed that was a Little Bit Different. It was the first living cell. Everyone's ancestor. And so the story of life begins."--

Presents a history of life on Earth, from the first appearance of microscopic life forms 3.5 billions years ago, to the evolution of more complex forms, including the dinosaurs, to the present Holocene Era, which followed the last Ice Age.