Jellyfish Scientist

Jellyfish Scientist Maude Delap and Her Mesmerizing Medusas Coming April 22, 2025. Pre-order today! By: Michelle Cusolito / Illustrated by: Ellen Rooney Where do jellyfish really come from? In 1800s Ireland, a young woman named Maude scoops a jellyfish out of the water and embarks on more than a year of observation of the animal, accomplishing something often tried, but never before seen: trace the life cycle of a jellyfish and understand the creature’s metamorphosis from larva to adult. Maude Delap's painstaking observations of a compass jellyfish in 1899-1900 laid the foundation for research still ongoing today. This pioneering woman scientist is an inspiring testimony to the power of dedication and curiosity. If you like this book, you’ll enjoy these: What's in Your Pocket? She Sells Seashells [TABS] Look Inside Downloadables Download the Cover Author & Illustrator Michelle Cusolito, author Michelle Cusolito is the author of A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea, Diving Deep: Using Machines to Explore the Ocean, and Flying Deep: Climb Inside Deep-Sea Submersible Alvin, which also won the 2016 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Children's Book Discovery Award. She has worked as a fourth grade teacher, a curriculum specialist, and an adjunct professor. She lives in Rochester, MA. Read more about Michelle. Ellen Rooney, illustrator Ellen Rooney is an illustrator, designer, and artist. She loves graphic shapes, textured colour, creating an atmosphere, and telling a story with pictures. She is the illustrator of The Astronomer Who Questioned Everything: The Story of Margaret Mitchell, The Heart of the Storm: A Biography of Sue Bird, and Her Fearless Run: Katharine Switzer's Historic Boston Marathon. Read more about Ellen. Awards & Honors A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection Editorial Reviews Kirkus Reviews Off the craggy coast of Ireland in 1899, self-taught scientist Maude Delap captures a jellyfish from her rowboat and embarks on an unprecedented scientific journey. Like most girls and women in her community, Maude has never attended school. But her intrinsic curiosity ignites an interest in marine life on Valentia, the island where she lives. Jellyfish are difficult to raise in captivity, which makes studying them a challenge, but Maude isn’t deterred. She brings a worthy specimen to her makeshift home laboratory. Over the course of 10 months, the medusa—the term for an adult jellyfish—produces larvae, which become tiny polyps, then transform into pulsing ephyrae, fed and nurtured by Maude until one reaches adulthood (even devouring all the others!). Maude becomes the first person to raise a jellyfish in captivity, studying it throughout a complete life cycle. Detailed backmatter notes that Maude was well respected in the field, despite gender discrimination and her lack of education. Illustrations have a cut-paper feel, lending a cozy depth to each scene with overlapping colors and textures. Calming, muted oceanic hues evoke a foggy Irish coastline. Each unique jellyfish floats in delicate, translucent layers of creamy pink. Maude and her family are light-skinned. The captivating narrative occasionally addresses readers (“Whoa! Did you see that?”), balancing unfamiliar scientific terminology with an easy, conversational tone. A compellingly told story of a quietly brilliant feminist figure. Details Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-62354-581-9 Ages: 7–10 Page count: 32 11 x 9 Publication date: April 22, 2025 [/TABS]