History, entomology, butterflies!!! The book chronicles the triumph of a driven woman in an era when women had little power and were given even less opportunities for recognition.
The butterflies, foliage and creatures on this cover were painted by the subject of the book, Maria Merian. Her observations and art work helped scientists understand the process by which flying insects develop. She painted, worked, and researched in the mid 1600s.
I do wonder if Merian would have been as successful if she had been born outside of the Netherlands. Just a thought. That part of the world had more enlightened laws when it came to women, their rights to property and business, their ability to travel and achieve.
I truly appreciate Joyce Sidman's poetry and authorship. In this book, she leaves poetry behind, except in the lyricism of her narration, in preference to facts. The illustrations are archival drawings of the era OR Merian's artwork.
This book is beautiful. Offer it to your young person. Let them flip through it at leisure.
