Review by Booklist Review
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.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this captivating picture book biography, Lawlor tells how Marianne North (1830--1890), born into great wealth in England, faced a total lack of support for her interests in music, art, and botany: "Marianne's mother said she was wasting her time." Trapped into a caretaking role until her father's death, she finally found freedom at age 40. She began to travel the world alone, painting the pictures of flowers and plants that fill her namesake gallery in London's Kew Gardens. Lawlor's narrative of North's astounding journeys on steamships, camels, and canoes weaves in direct quotes that capture her irrepressible spirit--"Did I not paint?... And wander and wonder at everything?" Stadtlander's vibrant watercolor and ink illustrations capture details--gimlet-eyed crocodiles, patterned carpet bags, a crab scuttling over a paint-smeared palette, "marauding crows" stealing "glittering tubes of paint"--that conjure the rich peculiarities of North's intrepid and privileged life. Ages 6--9. (May)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
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
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Review by Horn Book Review
As a teenager, Marianne North (1830-1890) acquired a love of music, art, and especially botany (all things that her wealthy Victorian parents disapproved of), teaching herself about plants from books and observation. At the age of forty, after the death of her widowed father, North was finally free to pursue her passions. Initial trips to paint plants in North America and the Caribbean inspired her to go from being "a traveler who painted" to "a painter who traveled," visiting fifteen countries -- and creating copious art there -- over the next fourteen years. In this fascinating and detailed account of North's life, Lawlor (Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World, rev. 7/12) covers the difficult traveling conditions and accommodations North often encountered; even though "traveling alone was frowned upon for 'unprotected ladies,'" she remained undeterred. A few years before her death, North convinced the director of London's Kew Gardens to let her build the Marianne North Gallery to house her collection, of which 832 paintings are still viewable today. Grouped by geographic regions, they form an "astonishing" mural-like display, captured by Stadtlander (On Wings of Words, rev. 5/20) on an impressive spread. An appended note about North's legacy cogently characterizes her work in oil paint, which placed plants in their natural surroundings, as "unlike traditional botanical illustration of her time"; and Stadtlander's vibrant ink, watercolor, and colored-pencil art in lush, natural colors echoes North's own realistic style (exhibited on the endpapers via eight reproductions). Back matter also includes sources, notes, and picture credits, plus a "who's who" of other well-known people in North's noteworthy life. Cynthia K. Ritter September/October 2021 p.120(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An introduction to a prolific painter with a love for all species. Marianne North was dissuaded by her family from playing music, cultivating her artistic talent, and pursuing an education; her main job was to find a wealthy husband--someone like her father. But from her teens, Pop, as she was nicknamed, devoted her life to painting the flora and fauna of our world. North spent the majority of her adult life traveling to far-off places. When she finally ran out of room for her paintings in her own home in London, she opened a museum: the Marianne North Gallery at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which was an instant success and is still open today--one of the oldest exhibitions by a woman artist in the world. Stadtlander's artwork is intricate and full of detail. She includes almost every shade of green imaginable in her illustrations, which are lush and rich with life both extant and extinct. They depict the White protagonist alone during her travels. A double-page spread of North riding an elephant is exquisite and serene. The small print could pose difficulties for young readers reading this book alone, so it's good that the illustrations' colors are bright and bold enough for a group read-aloud. Plenty of backmatter makes this book an excellent starting point both for further research and to teach children how much work goes into creating a nonfiction book. North's own paintings appear on the endpapers, fully attesting to her talent. A life full of adventure with a lasting legacy. (biographical note, sources, source notes, character list) (Picture book/biography. 9-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
