Surprises

by Edith M. Patch

A series of investigations into objects, life forms, and forces that children encounter in their everyday life, written to arouse their interest and curiosity in their surroundings. Opening with a study of natural fibers and food from plants, focus shifts to two topics that forces of nature (earth, air, fire, and water) and sketches of animals (mammals, insects, and birds). A final section on earth, sun, moon, and stars directs the gaze outward. Science Games appear after every topic to encourage further action and reflection.

320 pages, Paperback

Published September 22, 2022

About the author

Edith Marion Patch (27 July 1876 – 28 September 1954) was an American entomologist and writer. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, she received a degree from the University of Minnesota in 1901 and originally embarked on a career as an English teacher before receiving the opportunity to organize the entomology department at the University of Maine. She became the head of the entomology department in 1904, and, despite misgivings from several male colleagues about having a female department head, she remained in this post until her retirement in 1937.[1] Patch is recognized as the first truly successful professional woman entomologist in the United States.

Patch earned her master's degree from the university of Maine in 1910 and a Ph.D. from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1911. During her career, she was recognized as an expert on aphids and published Food Plant Catalogue of the Aphids in 1938. She was elected president of the American Nature Study Society and in 1930 became the first female president of the Entomological Society of America. Patch's residence in Old Town, Maine, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 (from Wikipedia article)