Fascinating and well-written. The illustrations worked well with the subject. This will appealing to kids interested in science and marine biology.

This book was excellent!

I thought that the book was fascinating, it was a great introduction to Maude Delap and her scientific discovery - Her Mesmerizing Medusas! Maude was the first scientist that observed the entire life cycle of a jellyfish in captivity and her story is inspirational.

After reading the book, I went on to Google and found out more about Maude and her discovery. I love the natural world and I loved the dedication from Maude, especially considering the time that she was living in - it really was a different time back then.

The wonderful illustrations in the book do help to bring the book to life. The life cycle is also shown which is a great touch as you can look back to this when you read Maude's story.

It is 5 stars from me for this one - very highly recommended!

Mesmerising. The writing is so immersive, I felt that I was there, with Maude, observing the jellyfish she had scooped out of the water. Observing, with her, for over year, I learned, as she learned, about the life cycle of jellyfish, something that other scientists during that time had failed to do.
I love how the author, Cusolito tells of Maude's unheard tale to her young readers. It is with deftness and a certain reverence, the manner in which she delicately tells us of how much care Maude took of the jellyfish in her captivity. It doesn't come across as cold and calculating, even though it is, but that is the trick of using certain words to evoke curiosity and respect.
The illustrations remind me of those cut and paste drawings, like pieces of the very puzzle Maude is, as we try to figure out what made Maude want to study jellyfish in the first place. Something that is not explored in this book, which is fine, I guess given that this is book for children 7-10 years old.

I would recommend this book to everyone. It tells the wonderfully inspiring tale of a woman scientist, who lived in Valentia Island, and saw jellyfish, floating on the surface of the sea.
Her research on compass jellyfish, which set the foundation for research for this day must be told, heard, and read by everyone, young and old.

thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Thank you so to Charlesbridge and Netgalley for the digital arc.
Fascinating biography of self educated marine animal scientist, Maud Delap (1866-1953) of Valentia Island, Ireland. Born in an era when women had few choices beyond marriage and children, inquisitive Maude followed her heart and recorded the life cycle of a jellyfish in order to understand the creature’s metamorphosis from larva to adult. No other scientist had been able to to so, but Maude succeeded. She published scientific papers in her own name, and became and associate fellow in the Linnaean Society, an exclusive scientific group in London that historically admitted only men. Biography is told in diary format and is accompanied by illustrations which record the development of the jellyfish from eggs to medusa. Excellent back matter. Definitely a book to share with anyone, young or old, interested in ocean life, scientists, and trial and error in the scientific process.
#JellyfishScientistMaudeDelapandHerMesmerizingMedusas #NetGalley

We LOVE a gorgeous non-fiction picture book in this house! Anything that keeps the kids engaged while sneaking in some learning is a huge win here and this book did not disappoint. My ocean loving 7yo loved learning about Maude Delap (a real life person who studied ocean critters- his dream!) and spent lots of time studying the illustrations of the jellyfish. My younger 2 enjoyed the read aloud as well. Definitely will be looking to purchase this in hardcover for our collection!

This children’s biography sheds light on an intriguing woman – Maude Delap – who became an expert in the marine life on Valentia Island.

Maude Delap (1866-1953) was fascinated with the life history of jellyfish. Her goal was to raise one in captivity so she could study it closer. Off the coast of Ireland, she picked larvae and placed it in a jar. She observed the larvae which became polyps, and sketched the changes. She patiently nurtured them and captured the magic of pinhead-sized jellyfish pop. She determined what to feed them with by trying variety of animals.

Maude was the first person to raise a jellyfish in captivity. Armed with this knowledge, she began her next experiment of collecting a blue jellyfish.

This short biography is written with fun language and is supported with charming illustrations. It sheds light on a woman who didn’t have an education as it was expected of women of her time to get married and have children. She didn’t get married. Instead, she dedicated her life to studying what she called jellyfish which scientist call sea jellies.

She shared her findings with a scientist in London named Edward T. Browne. She was acknowledged by scientists and respected by them despite not having the education they had.

What a wonderful book about Maude Delap and her study of jellyfish. This book will be a great science reference text for upper elementary students.

Learn about Maude Delap and her observation and discoveries about jellyfish. In this book we learn about the life cycle of the jellyfish and how Maude goes about observing one species of jellyfish over a year. A beautifully illustrated book with more details about the Maude's life at the end of the book. Suitable for public libraries or for incorporation into classes looking at the life cycle of ocean animals.

Beautiful illustrations and solid writing. This would not be ideal for younger children as it might be a little confusing. This is definitely educational and would be fun to supplement a storytime with this on a table for patrons to check out, but the way it is written would not be conducive to a storytime-like event. Really lovely illustrations and it even taught me some new things about jellyfish and who Maude Delap was!

Having recently read about Maude Delap in another book, I was happy to see that there is a picture book dedicated to her important work.
Coupled with curious artwork, this is an empowering book about this important scientist.

Thank you so much to Charlesbridge and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

This was really fascinating, I personally hadn’t heard of Maude Delap but as soon as I saw this book I knew I had to give it a read. What an incredible woman and so ahead of her time. I really enjoyed learning all about the cycle of the jellyfish and how she did her experiments.

Maude was a really interesting woman, she lived in a time where you were two things a mother or a teacher but she broke that mold and was a scientist, a marine scientist and studied the life cycle of the jellyfish, finding many different types and observing them from larve to medusa.

I love learning about woman of history that have done so much, contributed so much and set a wonderful example to so many other young girls out there. This book does just that, not only do you learn all about her job which was really interesting all on its own, but to learn about her also is wonderful.

The illustrations throughout were also really incredible to look at, so very detailed and beautiful. This is a a great book especially for any budding scientist but also a great read in general you’ll learn so much from it.

A quite enjoyable and educational story. Art felt very fitting for the time period of the subject. And a fascinating subject. Always glad to see more books to add to my library's collection.

This is a fantastic introduction to both a little-known scientist who made a big impact, and to the life cycle of the compass jellyfish. I'd never heard of Maude Delap before reading this, so I enjoyed the little snippets of her life that made it in to the text alongside her scientific discoveries. The author's note adds to this, providing historical context which highlights just how much Maude was going against the grain. How cool!

The illustrations and diary format are well suited to the text, and there is a small selection of further reading provided in the back matter.

I have been fascinated with jelly fish. They are beautiful creatures. when I saw this book I immediately requested it to learn more. It was very informative and interesting. This book had beautiful pictures and was very engaging while being informative. A nice balance to have in a non fiction picture book

A picture book that tells the story of Maude Delap who researched jellyfish in the late 1800s. I enjoyed this story! I also really liked the illustrations here. This would be great for all kids, but especially those interested in marine life.

What a fascinating book about the scientist who first successfully observed the entire life cycle of a jellyfish in captivity!

I learned a lot reading this book, and was not familiar with Maude Delap until now. Her dedication and contribution to science is incredible, especially given the time period she lived in.

This book had beautiful pictures and was very engaging while being informative. A nice balance to have in a non fiction picture book. I will need to get my hands on a hard copy when it is published!

Thank you to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for providing me with a copy of this book to review.