The Girl Who Built an Ocean
An Artist, an Argonaut, and the True Story of the World's First Aquarium
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
The inspiring tale of a seamstress-turned-scientist who invented the world's first aquarium at a time when women in STEM were startlingly rare.
The daughter of a seamstress and a cobbler, Jeanne Villepreux-Power began her career as a dressmaker, sewing beautiful gowns for the Parisian aristocracy. But her heart longed for more, and when she moved to the seaside, she became fascinated by the ocean's mysteries.
She filled her pockets with seashells and specimens, and filled her notebooks with oservations about coral and crustaceans and all manner of marine life. The argonaut interested her most of all, but Jeanne's observations of this shy creature were confounded by its tendency to swim away when approached. Jeanne wanted a way to bring a piece of the ocean home with her, and that's she came to build the world's first aquarium—an invention that would pave the way for countless scientific discoveries in the years to come...
Jess Keating (Shark Lady) and Michelle Mee Nutter (Allergic) bring Jeanne's story vividly to life with lively text and vibrant artwork that captures the curiosity and perseverance this pioneering woman in science brought to everything she did.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This aquatic biography foregrounds the inventiveness of 19th-century seamstress-turned-scientist Jeanne Villepreux-Power (1794–1871). The figure has a successful career dressmaking for socialites in France, but after a move to Sicily, her focus shifts to the Mediterranean's "enchanting world of saltwater and sand," where her fascination motivates her to develop glass aquariums to aid her study. Keating draws a clear line between Villepreux-Power's two occupations: "Chiffon and taffeta shifted into the foam at her feet as she walked in the sand. Pearls and sequins echoed the dappled sunlight on the horizon." When Villepreux-Power's observations show that female argonauts grow, rather than find, their shells, text skips the science to emphasize the marine animal's kindred gift for creation. Mee Nutter's smooth, animation-style digital art highlights the protagonist's curiosity with scenes of her at work amid specimen-filled environments. Back matter includes an author's note and timeline. Ages 4–8.
