Interview with Darcy Pattison

Science rocks! And so does this latest STEAM book from Darcy Pattison highlighting how one woman invented aquariums to observe marine life. Darcy is also the author of several other STEM picture books that belong in every classroom library. AQUARIUMS is illustrated by Peter Willis.

Welcome, Darcy! Tell us about the inspiration for this latest picture book, AQUARIUM: HOW JEANNETTE POWER INVENTED AQUARIUMS TO OBSERVE MARINE LIFE.

I write the eight-book Moments in Science series which is about a moment when science changed in some way. The series is always tied to the NSTA/NextGen science standards, and I try to find a fun story about an interesting scientist. In this case, when Jeannette Power invented the aquarium, it transformed marine biology. Before the aquarium, scientists could only study dead specimen. After the aquarium, they could observe live creatures across their whole life cycle. One simple invention—the aquarium—changed the world.

Jeannette Power discovered her love of the sea while in Sicily. As a Sicilian-American who loves the ocean, I can relate. How did you relate to the story of this extraordinary woman? I loved Jeannette’s personal story. She was French but moved to Sicily to get married. Her husband was involved in communications, putting underwater cables across the Mediterranean Sea. They lived in Sicily for about 25 years and Jeannette threw herself into the community. With a priest at her side as chaperone, she traveled across the island and wrote a guidebook about Sicily, its geography and biological life. She studied caterpillars, octopuses (Argonauta Argo, as discussed in the book), and kept chinchillas as pets. In her house, she grew a tree where the chinchillas climbed and played, and they often slept with her. Think about her household full of animals: butterfly caterpillars, aquariums full of octopuses, and chinchillas running around. While I don’t want a house full of such animals, I admire her passion for life. At a time when women were not accepted as scientists, she followed her interests and changed the world of marine science.

Did you face any challenges writing this biography for young readers? The biggest challenge was languages. Jeannette wrote in her native French or in Sicilian. With internet archives, it was relatively easy to find her published journal articles, but then I had to use Google Translate to read them in English. At every step, I had to rely on translations by using technology.

Aquariums can make for wonderful classroom field trips. Please tell teachers how they can use this book in the classroom. Whether a classroom aquarium or a visit to a large aquarium museum, this book is a great introduction to marine studies because Jeannette passionately believed in observation. Jeannette’s most famous study was of the weirdest octopus in the world. The Argonauta Argo is a small octopus (10-12” for the female, “0.5-1” for males) that lives in the middle to upper part of the ocean, as opposed to the ocean floor where most octopuses live. Using her aquariums, she observed over 1000 individual Argonauta Argo octopuses as she studied the question of how they create their shells. Yes! An octopus that has a shell! She said, “I did not study this marine animal…using the imagination, but by experimental observations.” Jeannette discovered that the octopus had two arms with special anatomy that allows them to build their own shell. This discovery was only possible because of 1) dedication to observation, and 2) the aquarium, an artificial habitat for marine life. In the classroom or on a field trip, spending time writing observations is time well spent. Build into students the habits of observation.

This is one of two great STEM picture book titles from you releasing this year. What is next for you, Darcy Pattison? Can you give us a hint? Coming next year is Book 9 of the Moments in Science series, MAGNETS: How William Gilbert Discovered that the Earth is a Great Magnet. This is a look at the early study of magnetism and how Gilbert found that Earth has a magnetic field.

Also coming in 2024 is Book 6 in the Another Extraordinary Animal series. It already features a mammal, reptile, amphibian, spider (arachnid) and a bird. PELORUS JACK, THE NEW ZEALAND PORPOISE will add the story of a marine animal who was so amazing that the New Zealand government passed a law to protect him. It stands as a groundbreaking legislation in our pursuit of conservation of species.

DARCY PATTISON Children’s book author and indie publisher DARCY PATTISON writes award-winning fiction and non-fiction books for children. Five books have received starred PW, Kirkus, or BCCB reviews. Awards include the Irma Black Honor award, five NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books, three Eureka! Nonfiction Honor book (CA Reading Assn.), two Junior Library Guild selections, two NCTE Notable Children’s Book in Language Arts, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book, an Arkansiana Award, and the Susannah DeBlack Arkansas Children’s History Book award. She’s the 2007 recipient of the Arkansas Governor’s Arts Award for Individual Artist for her work in children’s literature. Her books have been translated into ten languages. FOR MORE: See MimsHouseBooks.com