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Aimed at high school students, this is a biography of Jeanne Villepreux-Power who was never expected to be a scientist. Born in 1794 in a French village more than 100 miles from the ocean, she pursued an improbable path that brought her to the island of Sicily. There, she took up natural history and solved the two-thousand-year-old mystery of how of the argonaut octopus gets its shell.
In an era when most research focused on dead specimens, Jeanne was determined to experiment on living animals. And to keep sea creatures alive for her studies, she had to invent a contraption to hold them – the aquarium. Her remarkable life story is told by author, marine biologist, and octopus enthusiast Danna Staaf.
Danna Staaf is a freelance science communicator with a PhD in marine biology. Her writing has appeared in Science, KQED, Earther, and io9, and her first book, Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods (now reprinted as Monarchs of the Sea: The Extraordinary 500-Million-Year History of Cephalopods), was named one of the best science books of 2017 by NPR. She created the science outreach program Squids4Kids and visits schools at every grade level, as well as venues from museums to libraries to tech companies. She lives in San Jose with her spouse, children, and innumerable plush octopuses.
"[W]ell researched and expertly explained. A seaworthy bio of a revolutionary scientist."
– Kirkus Reviews
"An illuminating work on a scientist in the same league as Maria Sibylla Merian and Mary Anning."
– starred, Booklist
"Highly detailed, conversational chapters feature archival material, scientific drawings, and full-color photos in a handsome layout, and numerous contextualizing sidebars cover topics ranging from the ethics of animal experimentation to the metric system."
– Publishers Weekly
"Readers will be amazed by Villepreux-Power and the interesting journey she made from seamstress to self-taught scientist, credited with creating the first aquariums and studying live aquatic animals in the process of discovery."
– Children's Literature
"This author is as resourceful and ingenious in relating the story of her subject as Jeanne Villepreux-Power was in her scholarly endeavors [...] This life story of an important female pioneer in the sciences is highly recommended."
– starred, School Library Journal
"This book bursts with the passion and enthusiasm of its subject with lively, engaging, and at times humorous text. Fascinating from beginning to end!"
– Joyce Sidman, author of The Girl Who Drew Butterflies, winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
"This story of one woman's pluck, determination, and scientific insight is a riveting read for anyone of any age!"
– Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus, a National Book Award finalist
