Still Friends

Written by Troy Wilson

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Orca Book Publishers 

978-1-4598-4257-1

32 pp.

Ages 3–5

May 2026 

 

When a dog makes a new friend in the park, he can't help but compare her to his old friend. But is that really fair? After all, maybe his new friend has different stuff to offer.

From Still Friends, written by Troy Wilson, illustrated by Mike Deas

When we first meet this adorable beagle, he's with a wonderfully quirky woman with a red ball cap who plays with him, speaks to him, walks him on a long retractable leash, and gives him treats and lots of scratches. But his new friend is a little different. She sits stoically on a bench-like plinth, never speaking and never moving. Just "stone-cold silence."

From Still Friends, written by Troy Wilson, illustrated by Mike Deas

He's a little put off by her silent treatment and soon realizes that she offers a different kind of friendship, to him and a group of pigeons. She offers shelter and support. She never scolds or frowns at him. She definitely doesn't dress him up in silly costumes. And she always listen.

From Still Friends, written by Troy Wilson, illustrated by Mike Deas

This little beagle learns soon enough that none of them is perfect, including himself, and each offers something that makes them a dependable friend to have.

Troy Wilson, author of Liam Takes a Stand (2017), Little Red Reading Hood and the Misread Wolf (2019) and Goldibooks and the Wee Bear (2021), has written a picture book that is both subtle and candid. It reminds me of the old saying by Joseph Parry (and later adapted into a Girl Guide song) to "Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are gold." This beagle has a person who is with him all the time, doing the fun stuff and the discipline stuff too. They are the friend and parent, companion and teacher. But for the beagle to expect his new friend, a stone statue of a girl or young woman seated with her hands in her lap, to be the same is just an innocent confusion of what makes a friend. With observation and insight, the beagle realizes that his still friend could still be his friend regardless of how different she is from his old friend. (Hope you're picking up on the puns and word play in Still Friends.) 

From Still Friends, written by Troy Wilson, illustrated by Mike Deas

Even though Troy Wilson likes to play with words, adding some humour to a story about accepting friends as they are, Still Friends asks readers to reflect on their own friendships, just as this beagle has. Because he has done so, through observation and with insight, his life is richer for his awareness. That same lightness and delicacy with a shade of circumspection comes through in Mike Deas's artwork which was created with pastel and pencil crayons with ink outlines. As in his many books in the Scholastic Canada Biography series (written by Elizabeth MacLeod), the early reader Two Tales of Twenty-Six: Liam and the Letters, Walter and the World (written by Stephanie Simpson McLellan, 2024), and his own Sueño Bay Adventures with Nancy Deas), Mike Deas gives us texture and life, even in a story that has to balance brightness with gravitas. He is an illustrator whose style can give us the playfulness but with a sheen of weight in the messaging. It's that same juxtaposition of the beagle's two friends that shows up in Mike Deas's art and complements Troy Wilson's story so well.

 

Next time your child or a student is struggling with friends and wondering if they can be friends with others, give Still Friends a read. It will help them understand that there are many friends out there and by appreciating our differences, including our own imperfections, it will help us establish rock-solid relationships, not just win popularity contests.

Meet Frederick Banting (Scholastic Canada Biography)

Written by Elizabeth MacLeod

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Scholastic Canada

978-1-0397-0785-6

32 pp.

Ages 6-10

June 2025 

I get excited with the release of each new addition to the Scholastic Canada Biography, and this is just so with Meet Frederick Banting, which came out last week. Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas collaborate so well that I know that young readers will come away having learned and be inspired by another great Canadian.

 

While many will know the names Banting and Best for their discovery of insulin, the full story of Frederick Grant Banting, born on an Ontario farm in 1891, will be less well known to many. Banting's story, beyond a Heritage Minute of Historica Canada, is far less familiar, though, within his childhood, education, and work beyond the discovery of insulin, he is a man of great accomplishment, humanity, and charity.

From Meet Frederick Banting, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Mike Deas

Living on a farm at the turn of the twentieth century would have been fairly typical though Fred was encouraged early on to really study the animals to help determine why they were sick and how to help them get better. However, it was his friendship with Jennie Victoria Jorden, a young diabetic, that probably was most critical to compelling him to consider why diabetics got sick and died and how he might help them.

From Meet Frederick Banting, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Mike Deas

At university, Fred studied medicine and, after working as a doctor in Britain and France during World War 1, he returned to Canada and started a family practice in London, Ontario. He also taught at the nearby university, and it was during his prep for an upcoming lecture on the pancreas, which was known to be involved with diabetes, Fred had an important realization. He took his idea to a professor at the University of Toronto who provided him with a lab and assistant, Charles Herbert Best. Their research into isletin which was renamed to insulin is well established, and the accolades he received, along with others, are firmly rooted in the history books.

From Meet Frederick Banting, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Mike Deas

But Elizabeth MacLeod tells us more about the man and his nature beyond his discovery. He didn't want to make money from his discovery and sold the rights to make the medicine for a single dollar. When he won the Nobel Prize in 1923, he split his prize money with Charley Best. And he continued to work for others, opening a diabetic clinic and helping the Canadian government by conducting research during World War 2. This extraordinary man lived a life of service and Elizabeth MacLeod makes sure to tell his story more completely. (She includes a timeline of his life at the conclusion of her story.)

 

The reason I love the Scholastic Canada Biography books is because I always learn something new. Elizabeth MacLeod goes beyond the obvious or the known and gives us a fuller picture of the individual. Here, Frederick Banting becomes a humanitarian and a researcher, more than just a Nobel Prize laureate or a celebrity to be lauded on a Walk of Fame, though he is both of those. And she tells his story with passion and directness, probably not unlike the man. This is his story and his life, and Elizabeth MacLeod tells it effectively for her audience.

 

That simplicity of message comes through in Mike Deas's illustrations that look like they were effortlessly created, but they are far more than just sketches. In a complex process of creating sketches digitally, with a Wacom tablet and Photoshop, Mike Deas traces them onto watercolour paper and then applies gouache and watercolour paints before using black ink to finish the illustration. But with that process, Mike Deas creates art that is both direct and detailed, has heart and authenticity, and is perfect for a story of a selfless man who worked to help others and not enrich his own life with money or accolades. 

 

Meet Frederick Banting may take longer than a single minute of recounting history, but Frederick Banting deserves more, and Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas have given his legacy that which he is due. They have relayed to young readers that he was a great man and that all his work justifiably earned him the recognition as a great Canadian.

 

• • • • • • •

I know that readers always like to check out more of these books so here is a smattering of volumes from the Scholastic Canada Biography series:

 

Meet Viola Desmond (2018)
Meet Chris Hadfield (2018)
Meet Tom Longboat (2019)
Meet Elsie MacGill (2019)
Meet Willie O'Ree (2020)
Meet Terry Fox (2020)
Meet Thérèse Casgrain (2021)
Meet David Suzuki (2021)
Meet Mary Ann Shadd (2022)
Meet J. Armand Bombardier (2022)
Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie (2023)

Meet Clara Hughes (2024)

Meet Jim Egan (2024) 

Meet Frederick Banting (2025)

Two Tales of Twenty-Six: Liam and the Letters, Walter and the World

Written by Stephanie Simpson McLellan

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Red Deer Press

978-0-88995-746-6

64 pp.

Ages 6–8

November 2024

 

Like all skills, literacy develops at its own pace for the learner. For some children, the step between seeing shapes and deciphering into letters and then words comes earlier. For others, whether because of readiness or learning disability or even opportunity, the ability to read may come later. For Liam, it's not coming fast enough, especially when he has a charming book about a mouse and a bunch of cats–his family has cats!– and he wants to know what's happening.

From Two Tales of Twenty-Six: Liam and the Letters, written by Stephanie Simpson McLellan, illustrated by Mike Deas

In Liam and the Letters, a little boy is charmed by a book about a mouse and a lot of cats. He gets a lot of information from the illustrations, but he wants to know what's actually happening "but the random lines and loops of the letters stretch across the page like fences." (Liam and the Letters, p. 5) In fact, a sample of letters look a lot like those almost indecipherable text-based captchas and spell out "You Can't Come In" and could refer to the mouse and the outside world to which he is eager to visit or to Liam and his reading.

From Two Tales of Twenty-Six: Liam and the Letters, written by Stephanie Simpson McLellan, illustrated by Mike Deas

Liam is getting frustrated as fall turns to winter and he even throws his book away into the snow. But he retrieves it and makes a plan. After all, twenty-six letters is a lot. One letter at a time is manageable. 

One letter at a time could turn impossible into possible. (Liam and the Letters, p. 15)

From Two Tales of Twenty-Six: Liam and the Letters, written by Stephanie Simpson McLellan, illustrated by Mike Deas

So, he starts with the L and the A, letters from his name and ones that he recalls learning about at school. He's frustrated but with time he picks up on the W in the "Walk" sign on his way to school and the R on a cereal box. By spring, he's learned the letters and the weird-looking letters become readable.

 

Now, he can read the story that the reader can also read, simply by turning the book over. Walter and the World is the story of the mouse and the cats that Liam could not read. Walter the mouse has his own issues, with twenty-six cats whom he must evade if he's going to explore the outside world. Both Liam and Walter have twenty-six entities standing between them and what they crave, whether reading or an opportunity for exploration. Their stories may be different, but they are connected and ultimately even linked.

From Two Tales of Twenty-Six: Walter and the World, written by Stephanie Simpson McLellan, illustrated by Mike Deas

A tête-bêche book, which is also a flip book, has two stories in one book which you access by flipping it over. But Stephanie Simpson McLellan's book is not just two different stories. They are two linked stories with a child trying to read the other story. I don't think it matters which story is read first. If they read Liam's story first, they will get a perspective of what it means to look at a book and be frustrated at being unable to read it. But they will also get the satisfaction, as Liam gets, when he can put letters together into words and make sense of the story the reader can now read too. On the other hand, if they read Walter's story first, they'll be charmed by a cat-and-mouse story like no other and feel like they know a secret about the book that Liam cannot read when they read the second story. The order of the reading of the flip book does not matter here; it's the connection that matters.

 

Flip books can be problematic for libraries, particularly for cataloguing, but Two Tales of Twenty-Six will not be so. It will just be a fuller story, told from two different layers, that of a story character and that of a reader. For each, Stephanie Simpson McLellan who is a star of storytelling–my particular faves are The Christmas Wind and The Sorry Life of Timothy Shmoe–gives us a character who is faced with a challenge of twenty-six and tackles it with strategy and perseverance and ultimately success. It's two feel-good stories in one package.

 

To make it even more enticing for early readers–other than giving them a story with which they will be familiar–Two Tales of Twenty-Six is illustrated by Mike Deas, giving these young readers the graphic support to help them read and understand their reading. Mike Deas's art uses a blend of gouache, watercolour, ink, and digital tools to both support and enhance the stories, giving Liam the reader a starting point for his reading, and the reader of Two Tales of Twenty-Six the colour and the magic to make understanding possible and worthwhile.

 

I'm usually not enamoured with tête-bêche books but Two Tales of Twenty-Six is more than the sum of its parts and that's why it's extraordinary. It's a book that is geared to its audience perfectly, encouraging our youngest children in their reading, especially if they are frustrated, and allowing them to see themselves in a story while taking a step up in their reading from picture books.

• • • • • • •

 

I'm very pleased to tell you about the book launch party for Two Tales of Twenty-Six

 

that will be held on

Saturday, November 30, 2024

 

from 10–11 a.m.

 

at

Little Rae Goode
477 Timothy St.

Newmarket, ON

 

 

This book launch will include:

 

• a book reading

 

• a contest for best mouse face mask

• free cookies

• giveaways

and

• book signing by the author Stephanie McLellan

Meet Jim Egan (Scholastic Canada Biography)

Written by Elizabeth MacLeod

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-9725-0

32 pp.

Ages 6-9

May 2024

 

I didn't know who Jim Egan was. But, like all Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas's books in this illustrated biography series from Scholastic Canada, Meet Jim Egan gives readers the opportunity to be introduced to extraordinary Canadians and learn of their historical impact in civil rights, athletics, science, business, the arts, activism, and more. With a season of Pride starting in June for several Canadian provinces, including the two in which Jim Egan lived, it is only fitting to celebrate the life of this LGBTQ+ activist now.

From Meet Jim Egan, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Mike Deas

Jim Egan was born in 1921 Toronto. He enjoyed many things, like science and nature and reading, but he figured out that he liked boys, not girls. When he had to leave school at age sixteen, rather than pursue a career in medicine, he took on a variety of jobs, from farm work and working in a lab, to joining the merchant marines during World War II. It was during this last endeavour, travelling around the world to transport soldiers and supplies, that Jim Egan discovered places where gay men could gather and be themselves. For the first time, he realized he was not alone in his feelings for other men.

From Meet Jim Egan, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Mike Deas

But, in many parts of the world, and certainly in Canada at that time, being gay was illegal. Fearing arrest and rejection from their families, their friends, their employers, and even landlords, many kept this part of their lives secret. But there were places where they could feel safe, and it was at one such place in 1948 that Jim Egan met his future life partner Jack Nesbit.

As a reader, Jim had always realized the discrimination that gay people endured but he was especially unhappy with the hurtful language used against LGBTQ+ people. He started writing letters to magazines and papers to educate them about gay people. It took a few years before his writing would be published but he got people talking and thinking about them. This started his activism and fight for gay rights, including his biggest fight: the right for equality in spousal recognition for gay couples. Gay people could not marry, adopt children, or receive government financial support like old age security as spouses. After being together with Jack for almost 40 years, Jim knew they had a new fight on their hands.

From Meet Jim Egan, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Mike Deas

Although the two men had been together for over 50 years when they died in 2000, they never saw the landmark changes that Jim's activism pushed to happen, like making same-sex marriage legal in 2005. Still, Jim Egan's drive for equal rights for gay people was instrumental in making others aware of gay people and their right to equality.

From Meet Jim Egan, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Mike Dea

Elizabeth MacLeod may give us the salient facts of Jim Egan's life, from his birth and employment, as well as milestones in LGBTQ+ history in Canada–see the timeline of his life complete with photographs–but she always keeps the heart of the man and his drive for equality at the center of his story. It is clear that Jim Egan was a passionate and sensitive individual who cared deeply for his partner and for equal rights for gay persons, and he had the determination to try to make things happen. Without his efforts, people would not have had the conversations about gay people and the baby steps towards legal equality would not have been possible.

 

As always, Mike Deas's illustrations keep a lightness to a life's story that is rife with struggles. His technique of blending digital with traditional media–sketches created digitally were painted with watercolour and gouache on watercolour paper and inked with black lines–easily takes us from a farm to the city, from the 1940s to the late 1990s. We see communities of gay people together but separate, embraced but also shunned, as well as the worlds in which Jim Egan lived and fought for his right to be himself and with his partner.

 

Meet Jim Egan is another wonderful addition to Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas's Scholastic Canada Biography, now totalling thirteen books. As always, they've introduced us to a significant Canadian whose story reminds us that doing the right thing for yourself and others may not be easy or always fruitful but it's always the best thing to do.

 

Meet Viola Desmond (2018)
Meet Chris Hadfield (2018)
Meet Tom Longboat (2019)
Meet Elsie MacGill (2019)
Meet Willie O'Ree (2020)
Meet Terry Fox (2020)
Meet Thérèse Casgrain (2021)
Meet David Suzuki (2021)
Meet Mary Ann Shadd (2022)
Meet J. Armand Bombardier (2022)
Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie (2023)

Meet Clara Hughes (2024)

Meet Jim Egan (2024)

 

Meet Clara Hughes (Scholastic Canada Biography)

Written by Elizabeth MacLeod

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-9772-4

32 pp.

Ages 6-10

January 2023

 

Just out this week is Meet Clara Hughes, the newest addition to Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas's fabulous illustrated book series, Scholastic Canada Biography. They've covered important historical and contemporary figures in Canada, including athletes like Tom Longboat and Willie O'Ree–see the listing below for those titles–who dealt with issues of racism and discrimination. But, by showcasing a contemporary athlete who has dealt with mental health and turned that into advocacy for others, Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas have championed Clara Hughes as much for her athleticism as her good work.

Born in 1972 in Winnipeg, Clara Hughes loved to read, do crafts, cook, ride her bike, and do sports like hockey and ringette. But when things got tough at home, with her parents arguing, Clara acted out, by shoplifting, partying, and staying out all night. Things changed after seeing Gaétan Boucher speed skate at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Taking up speed skating changed everything for Clara, focusing her energy on positive things, working hard, and having fun. As part of her training, she also cycled, and when the province of Manitoba encouraged more women to try that sport, Clara switched, eventually making Canada's cycling team for the 1996 Olympics, and then medalling.

From Meet Clara Hughes, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas

Still, Clara experienced depression. After she was able to ask for help and find ways to help her cope with her depression, she challenged herself to return to speed skating. By focusing on doing her best and the joy of her pursuits rather than winning, she achieved great success in her sports, becoming the only Canadian who has ever won medals at both the Winter and Summer Olympics.

But Clara Hughes's successes have reached beyond the Olympics and the podia. Her work with Right to Play, an organization that helps kids in conflict zones and poverty learn important life skills through sports, and her mental health awareness advocacy work that includes Bell Canada's Let's Talk campaign have extended her impact beyond her athleticism and into the realm of public service, touching many in ways we might not even understand.

From Meet Clara Hughes, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas

I'm so delighted that Elizabeth MacLeod chose to showcase Clara Hughes in this latest book of Scholastic Canada Biography. Elizabeth MacLeod has always told the stories of exemplary persons (see the list below) who've achieved much, though sometimes inconspicuously during their lifetimes. They come from a variety of backgrounds, whether in the fields of science, business, the arts, or sports, but their achievements have led them to greater societal impacts than may have been recognized at the time. For many, Clara Hughes is a successful speed skater and cyclist, achieving gold, silver, and bronze medals at multiple Olympics. (In fact, she's the only Olympian to win multiple medals in both winter and summer sports.) But her advocacy work, particularly with regards to raising awareness about mental health, must be recognized as significant, taking discussions about mental illness from inner thoughts and doctors' offices to public forums and educational campaigns. By telling Clara Hughes's story of becoming a successful athlete alongside her challenges with depression and efforts to cope with it, Elizabeth MacLeod has made Clara Hughes more real.

From Meet Clara Hughes, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas

Because of the complexity of Mike Deas's art, using digital tools with watercolour and gouache paints as well as ink, the illustrations of the Scholastic Canada Biography series always set the right tone. While emphasizing the biographical, showing the Clara Hughes that we all recognize from her Olympic events like carrying the flag at the 2010 Winter Olympics or raising the Canadian flag after a winning race, Mike Deas gives us more than just that which could have been seen in photographs. We also see her hanging out with other troubled teens in a parking lot, overwhelmed by a black cloud of depression as she speaks to her doctor, and finding solace in nature with her partner Peter Guzman. Mike Deas helps us see the child, the athlete, and the advocate, through all her triumphs and her challenges. 

 

For many, Meet Clara Hughes will give them a new perspective on an athlete whose prowess in cycling and speed skating are just a fraction of her achievements. By going beyond the Olympic medals and showing us how Clara got to be the outstanding athlete and how her personal and sports challenges led her to further accomplishments in mental health education and awareness, Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas have given us the true and complete Clara Hughes.

 

 

 • • • • • • •

Scholastic Canada Biography (to date)

Meet Viola Desmond (2018)
Meet Chris Hadfield (2018)
Meet Tom Longboat (2019)
Meet Elsie MacGill (2019)
Meet Willie O'Ree (2020)
Meet Terry Fox (2020)
Meet Thérèse Casgrain (2021)
Meet David Suzuki (2021)
Meet Mary Ann Shadd (2022)
Meet J. Armand Bombardier (2022)
Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie (2023)

Meet Clara Hughes (2024)

Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie (Scholastic Canada Biography)

Written by Elizabeth MacLeod

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-9612-3

32 pp.

Ages 6–10

May 2023

I can't think of a more accomplished person to highlight during National Indigenous History Month and every month than Buffy Sainte-Marie. Though many know her as a singer-songwriter and young readers may be familiar with her Silver Birch-nominated book Tâpwê and the Magic Hat (2022), this latest illustrated biography from Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas testifies to Buffy Sainte-Marie's varied and good work.

From Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas

Buffy Sainte-Marie was probably born in the 1940s on the Piapot First National reserve in Saskatchewan but was taken and adopted by the Sainte-Maries of the northeastern U.S.A. Her childhood, often spent alone, was filled with music, with Buffy starting to play the piano at age 3, and learning music by ear. At 16, she taught herself to play guitar, and, while at university, she started playing at small clubs and then larger ones. After graduation, she became a full-time musician.

From Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas

As her songs were garnering much attention, from her "Universal Soldier" as a protest song, and "Until It's Time for You to Go" as recorded by countless famous artists, she was noticing how Indigenous roles were depicted on the screen. When she was asked to take a lead rode in an episode of "The Virginian," she maintained the need to hire Indigenous actors for Indigenous roles, leading the action for diversity.

From Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas

Her other initiatives included starting the Nihewan Foundation for Native American Education which supported Indigenous teens going to university. She has spoken globally about Indigenous Peoples to further understanding. And even though her music was snubbed in the late 1960s and 1970s by radio stations and more for her political messages, she persevered, continuing to extend her activism to championing the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Along the way she won an Oscar, made several important appearances on "Sesame Street," and used new technology for creating visual art and music. She lent her support to the Idle No More movement and was awarded everything from the Polaris Music Prize to Junos and the Spirit of Americana/Free Speech in Music Award.

With her art fuelling her activism, whether it involved Indigenous Peoples, anti-war protests, missing and murdered Indigenous women, or shelter animals, Buffy Sainte-Marie's story in Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie will provide inspiration to young readers. She defies labelling as she is everything from a singer and a songwriter to a humanitarian, a protester, a teacher, a speaker, an advocate, and more. But by letting her heart and passions lead her, she has accomplished so much and done so much good work

Using the power of positivity, Buffy shares her messages with her songs and through art, education and the organizations she supports. Buffy teaches that we can all work together to help make the world a better place. (p. 29)

Elizabeth MacLeod makes sure that readers will learn about Buffy Sainte-Marie's achievements–a timeline of key events appends the illustrated story–but also about her spirit, and her spirit is great, both broad and deep. Buffy uses it, with her voice in music and art, to educate, to mobilize to action, to inspire, and to give voice. Mike Deas's artwork, which involves gouache and watercolour paints and ink, along with digital tools, supports the story with detailed illustrations from Buffy's personal and professional life, from childhood to the 2020s. He takes her story from being taken from her Cree parents as a baby to performing on stage with a red dress–a symbol of missing and murdered Indigenous women. With that, Mike Deas carries readers through nine decades of Buffy Sainte-Marie living and performing and inspiriting. 

There are many stirring reads of important Indigenous activists and leaders but, as an illustrated biography, Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie gives us a comprehensive and unequivocal depiction of an amazing woman, a woman of talents, of courage, of conviction and of spirit. The story, as the woman, touches, and impresses.

 

• • • • • • 

Scholastic Canada Biography series by Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas:

 

Meet Viola Desmond (2018)
Meet Chris Hadfield (2018)
Meet Tom Longboat (2019)
Meet Elsie MacGill (2019)
Meet Willie O'Ree (2020)
Meet Terry Fox (2020)

Meet Thérèse Casgrain (2021)

Meet David Suzuki (2021)

Meet Mary Ann Shadd (2022)

Meet J. Armand Bombardier (2022)

Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie (2023)

Meet J. Armand Bombardier (Scholastic Canada Biography)

Written by Elizabeth MacLeod

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-9133-3

32 pp.

Ages 6-10

2022

 

Learning and teaching about amazing scientists, athletes, activists and other important persons who have helped shape Canada's history have been made all the easier and captivating with Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas's illustrated biography series, Scholastic Canada Biography. Their latest collaboration highlights the inventiveness and achievements of Quebec's Joseph-Armand Bombardier, inventor of the snowmobile.

From Meet J. Armand Bombardier by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas

Born in 1907 Valcourt, Quebec, Joseph-Armand Bombardier loved tinkering with machines and building things from a young age. At fifteen, he invented his first snow machine, though its success was very limited. Not surprising he apprenticed with a mechanic to develop his skills before studying mechanical and electrical engineering. But the idea of a machine that could float over the snow was always in the back of his mind.

From Meet J. Armand Bombardier by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas

As he grew older and established his own garage, married and had kids, Armand found a new reason to pursue his snow machine when his young son could not get to hospital because of the snow. Using skis instead of wheels, repositioning the engine, and adding special toothed gear wheels, Armand's machine finally worked. It may not have looked like the snowmobile we know today, but it was the foundation for numerous other machines, from tractor track attachments and muskeg tractors to the famous Ski-Doo (only named this because of a typo of Ski-Dog).

 

When Joseph-Armand Bombardier died in 1964, he left a legacy of extraordinary invention and Elizabeth MacLeod makes sure to tell that story in addition to his personal details. It's a rich legacy of vision and pursuit that impacted the individual as well as commercial enterprises from the oil fields and resource development to the military. Yet Elizabeth MacLeod still makes sure to give us the personal side of Bombardier's story, particularly the home life and education and tragedies that compelled him to invent a snow machine. (A timeline of key events in Joseph-Armand Bombardier's life and afterwards is appended to the story, along with several photos.)

From Meet J. Armand Bombardier by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas

Though Mike Deas creates sketch-like illustrations, they are actually sophisticated art that blend watercolour, gouache and ink with digital means. As such, he gives both a gravitas and lightness to the story with his artistry. From Bombardier taking apart the family car as a child to children using a school snowmobile bus in the 1950s, Mike Deas gives his art some playfulness. But, recognizing the seriousness of a child's illness and the implementation of Bombardier's designs for all manner of machines, he also gives his art an authentic quality, as recording important milestones in Bombardier's life and inventing history. The illustrations help tell the story but never overwhelm or trample it with realism.

I recall teaching students about Canadian scientists and including the story of Joseph-Armand Bombardier but my students' learning would have been far greater if they'd had access to Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas's Scholastic Canada Biography of this inventor. They make him human and tell his story with completeness and consideration, and remind us of the heritage of the Bombardier name and his legacy.

• • • • • • •

With Meet J. Armand Bombardier, the Scholastic Canada Biography series by Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas now includes ten titles with an eleventh (Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie) scheduled for May of this year. I encourage schools and young readers to check out the whole series.

Meet Viola Desmond (2018)
Meet Chris Hadfield (2018)
Meet Tom Longboat (2019)
Meet Elsie MacGill (2019)
Meet Willie O'Ree (2020)
Meet Terry Fox (2020)

Meet Thérèse Casgrain (2021)

Meet David Suzuki (2021)

Meet Mary Ann Shadd (2022)

Meet J. Armand Bombardier (2022)

Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie (for release May 2023)

Meet Mary Ann Shadd (Scholastic Canada Biography)

Written by Elizabeth MacLeod

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-9130-2

32 pp.

Ages 6-10

March 2022

 

Although there are many Black historical figures, like Viola Desmond, whose accomplishment are celebrated regularly during Black History Month, Mary Ann Shadd should be one of them. This incredible woman, born in 1823 Delaware and immigrated to Canada in 1851 , was a teacher, a writer, an abolitionist, a lawyer, and the first female newspaper publisher in Canada. And all of that happened during the 1800s when slavery was still an issue and when women were disregarded and shoved into the background. Mary Ann Shadd was a Black woman whose conviction, determination and courage helped her to achieve great things, and this is her story, in words and pictures.

From Meet Mary Ann Shadd by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas

As a child, Mary Ann Shadd's family (who were not enslaved; her father was a successful shoemaker) were part of the Underground Railroad, helping freedom-seekers find safety. Mary Ann Shadd grew up understanding the need to abolish slavery and provide opportunities to Black people for learning. When the United States changed the law in 1851 to allow any Black person to be snatched and enslaved, Mary Ann and her brother moved to Canada from where she encouraged others to do the same. Eventually her whole family followed them.

From Meet Mary Ann Shadd by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas

Because there were few schools that allowed Black children to attend, she started an integrated school, though there were those who did not approve and she was forced to move onto other ventures, most notable starting the newspaper, the Provincial Freeman. However, even with this extraordinary achievement which included writing, editing and marketing, Mary Ann Shadd used M. J. Shadd to hide her gender. Still she spoke out about Black rights, returning to the US to encourage Black men to join the Union Army and help make slavery illegal.

From Meet Mary Ann Shadd by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas

But, even after the American Civil War and the abolish of slavery, racism was still rampant and Mary Ann Shadd's fight for equality compelled her to attend law school at Howard University and start "an organization for Black women to promote education, careers and the fight for the right to vote." (pg. 25)

Driven by her inherent desire for the rights of herself and others, Mary Ann Shadd pursued a variety of avenues both in Canada and the US to make people think and reconsider. She planted ideas about freedom and equal rights, education and suffrage, and she did so with perseverance and the strength of her convictions. Elizabeth MacLeod has introduced readers to an exceptional woman whose legacy is far-reaching, both across an international border and history, highlighting her story both anecdotally and with a timeline accompanied by several historic images. Moreover, with Mike Deas's illustrations, readers are treated to the visual of Mary Ann Shadd's life and story. We see times of racism, discrimination, tragedy and struggle. We also see triumphs and dedication, leadership and cooperation against a backdrop of the 1800s.

I've always appreciated the impact of Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas's Scholastic Canada Biography series (there are now nine titles) in introducing young readers to important historical figures. But, with Meet Mary Ann Shadd, readers will get more than just a name and a story. From now on, whether it's Black History Month or not, young readers will remember a powerhouse of a woman who defied the times to make better the lives of Black people with herself as a shining example.