The Girl Who Drew Butterflies

How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science

De: Joyce Sidman

Narrado por: Catherine Ho

Before Carl Linnaeus began classifying organisms, before John James Audubon drew birds from the wild, before Charles Darwin proposed his theory of evolution, there lived a 13-year-old girl named Maria Merian who loved to draw bugs. With a keen eye and deft hand, she rendered soft green caterpillars, papery-winged moths, and the dazzling, intricate beauty of the butterflies. But drawing these fascinating creatures wasn’t enough for Maria; she wanted to understand their small, mysterious lives. Where did they come from? What did they eat? And perhaps most miraculously of all, was there a connection between creeping caterpillars and beautiful butterflies?

With no formal training or university education, Maria Merian took on the role of artist, adventurer, and scientist in 17th-century Europe - a time when women were rarely allowed responsibilities outside the home, and unusual interests led to accusations of witchcraft. Her intrepid fieldwork and careful observation helped uncover the truth about metamorphosis and changed the course of science forever.

The Newbery Honor-winning author and poet Joyce Sidman masterfully paints a riveting portrait of Maria Merian - the girl who drew butterflies, the woman who has been called the world’s first ecologist.

©2018 Joyce Sidman (P)2019 Recorded Books

My daughters ages 9 & 19 learned and were inspired.

We read the hard copy book accompanied by the audible version as a home taught science lesson. The three girls were fascinated by this biography and the advanced and precocious scientist and artist.

I loved this book

it is a short listen but a powerful one. A great look into the life of a female scientist at a time when women having interests outside the home were frowned on. What a powerful example of persevering and following your passion. I highly recommend this one. I imagine the book has a lot of illustrations, which would be nice to sometime. I liked how the chapters were presented like instars of a butterflies lifecycle. Give this book a try.

An amazing life of a woman scientist and artist we was a forerunner of her time.

The story of Maria’s life and persistence through challenging circumstances is an encouragement to all who swim against the cultural tide of the day. This audiobook is missing the great illustrations available in book form and would benefit greatly from a pdf file included to download.

The fact that the author used quites from Maria herself made the story more interesting.

I liked the depth of the illustrations. I also liked that while listening you can also speed up the reading.

the story

I love it great story for kid's studying science I recommended it for kids 8-14

I enjoyed this short overview of Maria’s life.

The narration was emotionless and rather stilted and did not at all contribute to the story.