How to Have a Thought: A Walk with Charles Darwin

By Nicholas Day

Take a walk with Charles Darwin in this electrifying new picture book from Sibert Medalist Nicholas Day.

How do you work through a complicated idea, solve a tricky problem, or make a big discovery? Charles Darwin had a lot of ways to do it. He paced in circles and hit rocks with a stick. He studied the bones of his dinner. He even rode around the world on a boat called The Beagle.

These methods may sound unorthodox, but they led him to some pretty great thoughts--and discoveries about the origins of life as we know it.

Sibert Medalist Nicholas Day's conversational text has all the charm of a true story told by your smartest, most interesting friend. With Hadley Hooper's engrossingly textured illustrations, How to Have a Thought is both an introduction to Darwin and an invitation to live with brilliant curiosity.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0823458504
• ISBN13: 9780823458509
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Neal Porter Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3