  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 04/01/2021 Gr 2–4—This is a splendid account of Marianne North, who was born in England in 1830. Options for women in that time period were negligible. Her interests were music, drawing, painting, and exploring the natural world. Going to soirees and preparing herself for running a household bored her to tears. After her mother died, North did end up running her father's household as a dutiful daughter would but continued her study of botany and recorded specimens in her paintings. It was when her father died that she was finally able to do what it was she wanted, trekking all over the world and recording botanical and wildlife examples. North's paintings and her contribution to the botanical and natural sciences of the time were extraordinary (her paintings are the only images left of some extinct animals and plants), as was her determination to pursue goals that most women at the time could not. The illustrations are beautifully done, with attention and care carrying the spirit of North's paintings throughout. Back matter is included. This book would pair well with Barbara Cooney's Eleanor, covering another independent and courageous woman who gave back to the world. VERDICT A must for all libraries. This is an impeccably attuned biography of a woman who broke the rules to the benefit of all.—Joan Kindig, James Madison Univ., Harrisonburg, VA - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 06/01/2021 Born to a wealthy family in Victorian England, Marianne North had far more interest in botany and the arts than in finding a husband. Availing herself of the library, the extensive grounds of her family’s estates, and the learned guests who passed through their houses, North taught herself to use oil paints to form lush, detailed renderings of plants, insects, and birds. Stadtlander echoes North’s verdant style in her illustrations—created in black ink, watercolor, and colored pencil—where greens and blues prevail. Though she was unmarried, it wasn’t until North turned 40 that she—upon the death of her father—was finally free to follow her dreams and passions. With a cry of “Hurrah for liberty,” she embarked on scandalously unchaperoned trips to every continent but Antarctica, capturing the flora along the way in glorious color. These paintings can be seen on the endpapers and in the Marianne North Gallery of Kew Gardens, described in the edifying back matter. Lawlor’s biography captures both North’s spirit and the restrictive norms of the time, which couldn’t hold back this daring naturalist. - Copyright 2021 Booklist. Loading...
 |