A truly beautifully crafted book that offers a look at the life of a remarkable woman! I had never heard of Maria Merian before reading this but I am thoroughly inspired by her and want to read a longer biography. The reading level of this is a probably aimed at a young/mid-teen level, and I was expecting something a little meatier, however, that still doesn't detract from the fact that I immensely enjoyed reading about Maria's life, curiosity, and contributions to science and entomology. I would recommend this to anyone looking to add a little nonfiction reading to their shelves, or if you just want to read about a really cool woman :) ( )

Wonderful book to learn about history and the advancements in science, to learn about insects, and to learn about Maria Merian's life.

Science, art, and determination are all in this captivating book that teaches us about Maria Merian, an extraordinary artist and naturalist from the 17th century. Through evocative prose and breathtaking illustrations, the book immerses readers in Maria's insatiable curiosity and groundbreaking scientific discoveries. The author's meticulous research and historical context create a mesmerizing journey into the past. This book would be great for upper elementary through middle school students. ( )

What an amazing book! I learned so much about things that I never really much had an interest in……….bugs, caterpillars, and butterflies. Of course, I like butterflies. Who doesn’t? But to say I’m interested in entomology would be a stretch. But that is what is so great about this book. You don’t have to be interested in entomology to learn what a wonderful woman in history Maria Merian was.

I stumbled across this book in my library as I was cutting through the juvenile section to go to another section. I only saw the spine of the book which caught my eye. As you can see from my main photo at the top the hardcover is designed to look like a brown leather book with gold embossing. There is an actual dust jacket to the book that is beautiful as well but I didn’t know that until I looked it up on bookshop.org to put the link above. My library had removed the dust jacket. I’m definitely ordering the book to add to my collection of kids books.

One of the most fascinating gems of this book to me is the fact that she was such a pioneer in natural history/science and science artistry. Women during her time were not supposed to have professions. She also traveled from her native Germany where she was born in the mid-1600s to Suriname (South America). If you are familiar with naturalists in history then you would be interested to know that Mark Catesby and John James Audobon were inspired by her.

Although this book is categorized for grades 5-7 and ages 10-12 years it is definitely a book that an adult can read as it is in no way too juvenile. I had never heard of her before so the entire book was fascinating. But the most beautiful thing to me is the actual artistry of the book and its graphic design. From the photography taken by the author to the fonts used to the historical insets and Maria’s watercolor images placed throughout the book, it is stunning from cover to cover. Well crafted and well written it makes me want to learn more about Maria! ( )

This beautifully written and designed book by Joyce Sidman showcases the life experience of Maria Merian as an artist, adventured and scientist. The informative text is interspersed with full color paintings, etchings, photographs and thought provoking questions. ( )