I am looking for opinions on which book would be better. AO has It Couldn’t Just Happen listed for Year 6 (my dd is in Year 6 and almost ready for this one), but the copy I have is from 1989. I question the science in it simply for the fact that it’s pretty old, and science changes so much. But I do have The New Answers Book 1 by Ken Ham from 2012, and my mom has all 4. Wondering what your thoughts are on subbing Ken Ham’s for It Couldn’t Just Happen? I haven’t read either, but I also am not good at science. I wouldn’t be able to pick out things that have changed out of either book. But we also do trust Ken Ham and the AiG books.
I know there is a new edition of It Couldn’t Just Happen, but I don’t have money to spend on the “same” book. Thoughts?
Hi Sara B.
I don’t have any of the books you mention, but I have looked briefly at the AiG books, and I love their books/videos… I understand the dilemma.
I would suggest taking some time to skim the books you have and make sure they are readable for your DD. I have some of AiG’s pocket books which I enjoy, but my non-scientific mind does not always have a deep understanding.
You would want to feel that your DD is able to understand the general idea of the concepts and explanation.
If so, I love AiG and would probably use those books since you have them/have access. The four books cover a lot, so you may be able to find several chapters in each that are readable and omit the chapters that are beyond what you choose to cover, or the level of comprehension.
My daughter and I are reading through It Couldn’t Just Happen right now. We’ve really enjoyed it. We haven’t come across any major red flags and we are over half way through the book. Honestly, I don’t have a problem with a bit of outdated science. The heart of the book is wonderful and honestly, our kids aren’t going to remember all the details anyway. The important thing is that we get the point that “it couldn’t just happen”! One of the other major points of the book is that science changes-what scientists believed 20 years ago is different than what they believe now and will again be different in the future. We can share this with our children as we read science books-they are constantly changing. Some of what we learned in school is no longer considered to be true and the same will happen for our children.
I can’t address he Answers books since I’ve never read them. However, I will say that I don’t think they handle the same issues. My solution would be to read both. 🙂
We have read both and I must say that I really like the flow of It Couldn’t Just Happen. I feel it made it easy for them to narrate, both oral and written. Two of my Children have read it and I have another child who will read it this summer. Our edition is from 1989 and I saw no super red flags although the updated version would be nice. Check for it used on amazon.