This fascinating picture book biography tells the story of Maria Merian, a little known person in history who had a huge impact on science, particularly the study of insects. At a time when people did not understand metamorphosis and feared evil forces at work, Merian chose to study and experiment in secret to learn about the life cycles of various insects in her native town of Frankfurt, Germany. Later, she also traveled to Suriname to learn about native species there as well. In addition, Merian's early training as artist lead to her painting the various insects and other animals she studied, with some of these illustrations being published during her lifetime.

This book was very interesting and helped me learn about a historical figure I didn't previously know much about; imagine how much children will learn as well! This is a great book for a women's history month read or when talking about life cycles and/or insects, including butterflies. I can definitely see this being useful in a classroom setting, but it's also readable enough to be a lapsit or independent read for kids in kindergarten and up. ( )