When I was a kid, I was the girl chasing my little friends with a toad. I was fascinated by the little amphibians’ bumpy skin and soulful faces. Baby toads amazed me with their tiny details. My kids have a similar interest in natural science, although unfortunately, no toads live in our yard that I know of.

One of the things I love as much or more than toads is finding a book that either presents a new perspective of a historical event, or one that introduces a new person from history. When I discovered The Bug Girl: Maria Merian’s Scientific Vision, by Sarah Glenn Marsh, illustrated by Filippo Vanzo, it had me with the first pages inside the cover of Merian’s drawings of plants and insects. The book tells the story of Merian’s life, from her childhood in the 1650’s in Germany, to her career as an adult.

I tend to associate the 1600’s with the Salem witch trials as a symbol of that century’s limited thought and oppression of women, but this book shows there was more to that time period. While Maria Merian had to hide her interest in bugs as a young girl, it didn’t stop her from exploring and depicting what she found in beautifully detailed paintings.Maria succeeded with her early interests in part because of her supportive stepdad, who encouraged her and provided her with painting supplies. Her drawings helped people understand metamorphosis. More information about Merian’s  life and work is included in the back of the book.

Last summer on a walk at our favorite river trail, I saw a toad hopping through the wet grass by the trail and picked it up to show my kids. When I turned it around to face us, I discovered it had an earthworm hanging out of its mouth, dangling down and touching my hand. I hastily put the toad back down to finish its meal in peace. The kids still love to talk about the time Mom picked up a toad with a worm in its mouth.

My own kids love to raid our recycling bin to create little homes for the insects they capture. They know to study what type of plants the bugs are near so that they can at least try to recreate the poor creature’s habitat in its new plastic prison.

This kind of curiosity is so important to encourage in our kids. There is so much wonder in the natural world to be discovered and documented. I truly enjoyed reading this book to my kids and learning about another woman in history whom I’d never heard of.