Lady of the Lines

How Maria Reiche Saved the Nazca Lines

by Sweeping the Desert

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TO

Astra Young Readers

pub. 4.8.2025

48 pages

Ages 7 - 10

Author: Michaela MacColl

   Illustrator: Elisa Chavarri

Character: Maria Reiche

Overview:

"Maria Reiche wanted to put her curious mind to the test. When visiting Peru in 1941, she trekked across the land and discovered hidden lines covered in centuries of clay and sand.

Fascinated, she picked up a broom from her tools and began sweeping for miles and miles to uncover more details, taking time to track her movement and sketch out the precise shapes she followed. Her first discovery was a spider-shaped carving spanning hundreds of feet of desert! Sweeping her way across the land, other shapes followed—a monkey, a condor, and a whale.

But in the midst of these discoveries, she found out the land was going to be used for farming. She got to work again, this time demanding a press conference to announce her discoveries and stop the destruction of these ancient works of art—and it worked! Her efforts protected the land, which was later named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 thanks to Maria’s tireless efforts."

Tantalizing taste:

"Maria lived long enough to see the United Nations name the Nazca Lines a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The whole world would protect the Lines now, not just Maria Reiche and her brooms.

Maybe someday someone will figure out what the Lines mean.

Maybe you will.

Maria Reiche saved them for you."

And something more: Michaela MacColl in A Word from the Author explains: "Once Maria discovered her life's passion at age thirty-eight, nothing could stop her from pursuing it. At the end of her life, Maria acknowledged that she would never know why the Nazca carved lines in the sand. Far from being disappointed, she decided that to know everything would be boring."

As she says, "Even if I were sure that my blindness is due to the severe sun and all the limitations of my life on the planes, I would never have given up my studies."

Mariam's Dream

The Story of Mariam Al-Shaar

and her Food Truck of Hope

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Chronicle Books

pub. 4.1.2025

44 pages

Ages 5 - 8

Author: Leila Boukarim

   Illustrator: Sona Avedikian

Character: Mariam Al-Shaar

Overview:

"Once Mariam decides to start a food business in the refugee camp where she’s spent her whole life, she must see her dream through.

She will need money.

She will need the right papers.

People will tell her it’s impossible.

They will tell her not to risk it.

But with the women of the camp behind her, she is determined to make it happen."

Tantalizing taste:

"More walls stand in her way -

walls of rules,

of injustice,

of discrimination.

But Mariam has a mission.

She has a story.

She has a team of talented women who make food

that is meant to be shared.

No wall can stop her.

And so she charges ahead."

And something more: Leila Boukarim in the Author's Note explains: "Conditions at Mariam's refugee camp are difficult, particularly for women. But in the face of darkness and hopelessness, Mariam has dedicated herself to improving life there by empowering the people, by helping them learn the skills they need to do meaningful work... Since creating Soufra, Mariam has gone on to open a preschool as well as a Soufra Cafe in Bourj Al-Barajneh!"

Making Light Bloom

Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Lamps

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Peachtree

pub. 6.24.2025

32 pages

Ages 7 - 10

Author: Sandra Nickel

   Illustrator: Julie Paschkis

Character: Clara Driscoll

Overview:

"Drawing inspiration from her childhood gardens, Clara Driscoll created designs for Louis C. Tiffany's stained glass windows. Clara had such a flare for glass that Tiffany put her in charge of a special workroom, staffed with women—called the Tiffany Girls. But Clara wanted more. She wanted to create a three-dimensional work that would make light bloom. So she figured out how to engineer a lamp—how to shape and bend glass and light it so that her designs sprung to colorful, vivid life.

Today, we all recognize Tiffany lamps, but we almost forgot the woman who created them."

Tantalizing taste:

"To recreate the flowers, Clara searched through two tons of glass sheets stored in the baement. She found whites dappling to greens and yellows ripening to orange. With the help of the Tiffany Girls, she made each lamp burst with color, turning her love of nature into bright bouquets of glass...

Louis [Tiffany] died and so did Clara, and still, no one knew Clara had designed the lamps.

Until one day .... Clara's letters to her sisters and mother were discovered in an attic. Another bundle was found in a desk. And the readers learned the secret that had been hidden for so long.

Clara Driscoll was the creator of the garden lamps. Because of her, light bloomed - and still blooms - throughout the world."

And something more: Sandra Nickel in the Author's Note explains: "Missing home is often bittersweet. But in Clara's case, being homesick not only led her to create one of the most iconic pieces of American decorative art, it also resulted in her documenting that creation by writing hundreds of letters to her mother and sisters. Clara's letters act like a diary and tell us about her creative work and love for her home..." And it's wonderful learning that author Sandra Nickel read these letters -- incredible primary sources which add such depth to this beautifully written and illustrated true story!