Margaret and the moon flower
Cameron · illustrated by Nat Cardozo
Margaret has spent her life chasing a legend: the moon flower, a rare cactus said to bloom for just a few hours under a full moon, deep in the Amazon. Inspired by her grandmother’s stories, she sets off on a quest fueled by curiosity and wonder. Does the moon flower truly exist, or is its magic found in the belief itself?
Inspired by the life of English botanical illustrator and environmentalist Margaret Mee (1909–1988), this story follows her decades of exploration in the Amazon, where she traveled by canoe and on foot, often with local and Indigenous guides, painting plants as she found them. At its heart is Mee’s long-awaited discovery of the Amazon moonflower, Strophocactus wittii (also known as Selenicereus wittii), which blooms for just one night. She painted it by lantern light, and her work is now on display at Kew Gardens in London. As you finish the book, notice the shapes, patterns, and colors around you, just as Margaret Mee did.
Hardcover - 32 pages - Language: English - Dimensions: 9.3 x 0.5 x 9.3 inches - Age Range: 3 to 8 years old. ISBN: 9781946071613