Intrigue, mythology, marine discovery and sheer beauty: The Argonaut Queen
She’s the maker of a million babies, the creator of her own delicate home, she explores the ocean by riding on stinging jellyfish and has been accused of deep-sea theft! Yes, she’s the Argonaut Queen and children’s author, L.P. Hansen, has woven a wonderful story of intrigue and discovery around this tiny, mysterious, pink-spotted oceanic-living octopus. And all of it true.
An argonaut shell, sometimes called a paper nautilus, is indeed a mysterious and delicate thing. To find one intact is rare, to find one washed up on New Zealand’s shore is quite extraordinary. When she was young, Hansen found such a shell on the shoreline of Tūhua, Mayor Island. She still has it.
In her new book, Hansen shares not just the remarkable story of the oceanic creature who makes this shell. She also introduces pioneering marine biologist, Frenchwoman Jeanne Villepreux- Power, who was the first to discover that no, the argonaut does NOT steal her magnificent, intricately-woven spiral shell, as had been suggested. In the 1830s, Villepreux-Power studied argonauts in specially-designed undersea cages (in fact, the world’s first aquariums), on the coast of Sicily. Her research received international recognition.
There are six species of argonauts, or Argonauta to quote the scientific name. This comes from Greek mythology that involves the story of Jason the explorer, his ship Argo, his Argonauts (soldiers) and their happy meeting with Queen Hypsipyle on the island of Lemnos.
Indeed, there is a lot to pack into this book. Hansen achieves this, wending together disparate themes, drama and scientific detail and it’s all written in clear, easy to read yet picturesque prose: She travels the seas, carrying her shell like a Greek goddess’s helmet. And: The father argonaut is an octopus the size of a peanut.
Marlo Garnsworthy, whose illustrations adorn The Argonaut Queen, is also passionate about oceanic science. It shows. If Hansen portrays imaginative prose, the colours and depictions by Garnsworthy transform this book with bursts of colour that fire the imagination, and detail that depicts the scientific intricacies of argonauts along with the work of Villepreux- Power.
My six and seven year old grandchildren pored over this book. Like many children their age, they are budding naturalists and marine biologists. They soak up details of the underwater world, and they LOVE stories of colourful, adventurous creatures like the argonauts. We had fun reading it together, and we learned so much, Grandma too!
The Argonaut Queen is available in New Zealand bookshops . Linda has a limited supply of hard-cover copies. See her website
www.lphansen.com for further information.
The Argonaut Queen
Written by LP Hansen,
Illustrated by Marlo Garnsworthy,
Published by Starfish Bay Children’s Books.
RR $20.
