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)

Jane and the Blue Willow Princess

Written by Catherine Little

Illustrated by Sae Kimura

Plumleaf Press

978-1-069093523

40 pp.

Ages 6-10

June 2025 

 

The name of Jane Austen is forever linked with her Regency novels of Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and more, though she wasn't credited with their authorship during her lifetime. But how Jane Austen became the writer she did is purported to have its origins in her family and childhood, and Jane and the Blue Willow Princess is but one story of how she might have drawn inspiration from that place and time.

From Jane and the Blue Willow Princess, written by Catherine Little, illustrated by Sae Kimura

Catherine Little's story of little Jane takes readers to a family home in the late 1700s England where children entertained themselves and would take tea outdoors on Blue Willow fine china. In this story, Jane talks with her older sister Cassandra whom she calls Cassy about her many ideas for her writing. Though young readers might not recognize key scenes from her books, like a young lady on a horse getting caught in the rain or a family with many daughters who walk the countryside and confide in each other, these are the basis of Jane's ideas. But on this day, she is considering what to write as a birthday gift for her father.

 

While enjoying their tea, Jane is fascinated by the scenes depicted on the plate. She sees a fleeing young woman on a bridge, an attentive man on a boat, a wealthy or important man looking agitated, and lush outdoor scenes. Within the chinoiserie design of the plate, even after it gets broken by a stray ball, Jane finds inspiration.

From Jane and the Blue Willow Princess, written by Catherine Little, illustrated by Sae Kimura

With that plate in mind, Jane creates a play about a Blue Willow Princess who chooses not to marry her prince. Jane and her siblings perform her play for her father's birthday and takes a step forward in launching her writing career.

From Jane and the Blue Willow Princess, written by Catherine Little, illustrated by Sae Kimura

This year marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth and there will undoubtedly be many events and commemorations to celebrate the author. As with many historical figures, some information is known but there are always gaps that offer opportunities for fictionalized accounts and Jane and the Blue Willow Princess is one such imaginative story. Catherine Little, whose earlier books include Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill, Dragon's Dilemma, and Twelve in a Race, gives us a lovely story about a child who finds inspiration in a plate. And anyone who writes will understand that creativity can find a germ of an idea anywhere, whether in personal experiences with others, in local happenings, or in a plate. For Jane Austen, she found her ideas very close to home.

 

Sae Kimura, who illustrated all of Catherine Little's earlier picture books, has a style that is very well matched to a historical picture book. There's a lightness of line and colour that transports us hundreds of years ago to a time when girls wore simple empire silhouettes and boys wore breeches and waistcoats. But she also gets the whimsy in there with Jane's  imagination as her writing takes her on flights of fancy.

From Jane and the Blue Willow Princess, written by Catherine Little, illustrated by Sae Kimura

A foreword comment to Jane and the Blue Willow Princess from Caroline Jane Knight, the fifth great niece of Jane Austen, submits that Jane's storytelling with her family was important in helping her to write the novels that she would complete later in life. With everything around her providing her with fodder for her writing, even a Blue Willow Princess, Jane Austen took her readers and her audiences to the places of her imagination and delighted them with her fancy.

Inspired: A Roy Henry Vickers Colouring Book

 

Art by Roy Henry Vickers

Harbour Publishing

978-1-998526-33-8

88 pp.

All ages

Releases June 17, 2025 

Roy Henry Vickers, an Indigenous artist of rich Tsimshian, Haida, Heiltsuk, and English ancestry, has inspired many a child through his First West Coast Books with Robert "Lucky" Budd, and art lovers with his carvings, paintings, and prints, and even music lovers through his Grammy-nominated artwork for the Grateful Dead's 2018 boxed set. With this new publication, Roy Henry Vickers shares his art with those who may be inspired to create beauty through the colouring process.

From Inspired by Roy Henry Vickers

First, I must apologize for the poor reproductions of the gorgeous pages of Inspired. As line drawings, I could not share them properly to display the beauty of their shapes and line. That is my failing, not that of the book. Once you have your own copy of Inspired, you'll see the true depth of charm and style depicted in each spread. Roy Henry Vickers does not disappoint, though my scanned images do.

From Inspired by Roy Henry Vickers

Inspired is a collection of 42 pages for the reader to colour. The perforated pages are blank on one side, allowing the reader or colourist to remove the pages easily for display. Some of the titles of Roy Henry Vickers's colouring pages, some derived from actual art pieces, include Two Salmon, Bear Claw, Frog Drum, Snowy Owl, and Skeena Northern Lights. They cover a wide variety of Pacific Coast animals, people, and places. How the reader or colourist decides to give embellishment to the art, whether with pencil crayons, markers or watercolour paint, is up to them.

From Inspired by Roy Henry Vickers

Roy Henry Vickers's style is evident in each illustration with flowing lines creating elegant abstractions. His images, even as line drawings, are powerful and magnificent, recreating familiar scenes and natural elements in wonderfully stylized Northwest Coastal art. Roy Henry Vickers, who lives in BC, blends his natural surroundings with his heritage and designs creations that are both unreal and recognizable. They are beautiful.

From Inspired by Roy Henry Vickers

Though I would be tempted to colour these images myself, I think Inspired would be a lovely gift to someone who needs to see beauty and have a hand in gracing it with colour. Roy Henry Vickers's artwork needs no embellishment; it is perfection. But, by creating a colouring book of his images, Roy Henry Vickers allows the reader, nay colourist, to be part of a process by giving them license to impart their own vision onto his outlines. It's a subtle collaboration that empowers and soothes.

• • • • • • • 

To further appreciate the art of Roy Henry Vickers, check out the First West Coast Book series he created with Robert Budd.

Hello, Humpback!

One Eagle Soaring

Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue

Raven Squawk, Orca Squeak

A is for Anemone

A Flock of Gulls, A Chorus of Frogs

Mr. Beagle and the Quidi Vidi Caper

Written and illustrated by Lori Doody

Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides, Inc.

978-1-998802234

44 pp.

Ages 4-8

June 2025 

 

If it's a picture book by Lori Doody, you know it's time for another visit to Newfoundland and Labrador. In fact, Lori Doody invites us to revisit her character Mr. Beagle, whose nose for mystery helped him solve the local cases in Mr. Beagle Goes to Rabbittown, Mr. Beagle and the Georgestown Mystery, and Mr. Beagle Climbs Signal Hill.  This time, Mr. Beagle heads to the charming neighbourhood of Quidi Vidi in St. John's, Newfoundland and discovers a new mystery to solve.

From Mr. Beagle and the Quidi Vidi Caper, written and illustrated by Lori Doody

While making a delivery from his store, Mr. Beagle's Convenience, he notices that folks in the neighbourhood are looking a little sad and seem to be having a hard day. He learns that their stuffed teddy bears have gone missing. "It was unbearable!"

From Mr. Beagle and the Quidi Vidi Caper, written and illustrated by Lori Doody

He walks through the neighbourhood, talking to people and visiting the fish and chips stand and the one selling pupsicles before heading to the wharf. As the locals and tourists, all donning colourful sweaters and hats, scarves and bottoms, meander the wharf, shopping, taking boat rides, fishing, watching artists and more, Mr. Beagle has his beagle eyes open and his sniffer on the scent. With observation and insight, he catches the culprit whose plight compelled him to theft.

From Mr. Beagle and the Quidi Vidi Caper, written and illustrated by Lori Doody

But identifying the thief is just part of Mr. Beagle's talent. As in his earlier stories, Mr. Beagle finds a way to help the offender and in turn enrich the community in a novel way. And for Quidi Vidi, there's going to be a new attraction.

 

With a plethora of pun and subtle charm, Lori Doody has Mr. Beagle solving a mystery and helping the neighbourhood of Quidi Vidi. The mystery he tasks himself to solve may not be a heist of incalculable wealth, but it is a grab at the most precious and comforting of possessions for many: a beloved teddy bear. So, he takes his task seriously and just apprehending the culprit is not enough. Mr. Beagle needs to know why the theft took place and what could be done to resolve this for both thief and victims. In doing so, he institutes a form of restorative justice whereby both victim and perpetrator can find healing.

 

That's a big message for a little story about a dog who solves the mystery of the disappearing teddy bears, but St. John's printmaker Lori Doody keeps the lightness and brightness of the story in her art. From the bold colours of the sea, sky and land to the myriad of characters that populate the community, Lori Doody takes us to a neighbourhood that is unique and rich in spirit. And with another mystery solved, Mr. Beagle has strengthened another Newfoundland community and revitalized its residents through humanity.

 

Mr. Beagle Goes to Rabbittown (2020)

Mr. Beagle and the Georgestown Mystery (2021)

Mr. Beagle Climbs Signal Hill (2022)

Mr. Beagle and the Quidi Vidi Caper (2025)

 

Cover Reveal: Paul Coccia's The Bear Fairy

 

Author Paul Coccia

 

award-winning writer of middle-grade and YA novels including

 

 

Cub (2019)

The Player (2021)

On the Line (with Eric Walters; 2022)

I Got You Babe (2023)

Leon Levels Up (2024)

The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon (contributor; 2024)

Recommended Reading (2025)

 

 

 is set to release, in February 2026, 

his first picture book 

and I am delighted to help promote it with this cover reveal.

 

 

So, let's celebrate the start of Pride Month 

with this marvelous cover reveal for

 

 

The Bear Fairy

Written by Paul Coccia, The Bear Fairy is a picture book with a little bit of everything, including queer elements, body positivity, and big gay uncle energy, along with a whole lot of whimsy. With illustrations by Fred Blunt who, according to the copyright page, used cheap paper, pencils, tatty brushes, ink and a computer, The Bear Fairy will charm with its positive messages and magical humour.

🌈 ⭐🌈 ⭐🌈 ⭐🌈 ⭐🌈 ⭐🌈⭐ 🌈

 

For more details, here is the book blurb from The Bear Fairy's publisher, Tundra (an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada):

Meet an unlikely fairy and his new best friend in this laugh-out-loud picture book about acceptance, being yourself and standing up to anyone who tries to diminish your sparkle.

Fairies should be pretty and sparkly and dainty . . . not chubby, not fluffy and NOT lured in by potato chips. But when Spencer catches a fairy in the park, he's shocked to find that's exactly what he’s got!

The Bear Fairy is no delicate Tinkerbell: he hogs the remote, drops crumbs everywhere and snores like a truck. But he's still a fairy, and when Spencer's friend insults the Bear Fairy's appearance and hurts his feelings, Spencer must step up to defend his new friend.

With wit, charm and hilarity, author Paul Coccia and illustrator Fred Blunt have created a modern classic about being proud of who you are and fighting for the people you care about.

(From https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/744594/the-bear-fairy-by-paul-coccia-illustrated-by-fred-blunt/9781774885581) 

If you are interested in pre-ordering The Bear Fairy, book details and links to a couple of retailers are posted here:

The Bear Fairy

Written by Paul Coccia

Illustrated by Fred Blunt

Tundra Books

978-1-774885581 

40 pp.

Ages 3-7

February 17, 2026

 

Chapters/Indigo

Amazon 

or 

Local Booksellers (via "Shop Local" link on book's webpage )

 

🌈 ⭐🌈 ⭐🌈 ⭐🌈 ⭐🌈 ⭐🌈⭐ 🌈

Astronautical!

Written and illustrated by Brooklin Stormie

Annick Press

978-1-77321-942-4

248 pp.

Ages 8-12

May 2025 

 

In the Zephyr Galaxy a long time ago, the planet Zephyr exploded into chucks. The inhabitants were ever hopeful that the great Cynosure would fix it and reunite the Chunk Planets but a hundred years later, nothing has changed. The Zephyrians, which include everything from parrot-like beings to human-like creatures and stars with appendages, travel by vessels that look like sailing boats and ships between Chunk Planets. In fact, it's on a visit to the Star Bird store that Max and Lari's dad, Robert Cherryhair, is apprehended by Cynosure's security Foxes while the brothers are inside the store. So begins the story of Astronautical! and the boys' mission to find their father.

From Astronautical! written and illustrated by Brooklin Stormie

With their own ship set aflame by Cynosure's Foxes, Max and Lari join twin yellow dwarf stars Dez and Ori on their ship, the Dove, intent on heading to Cynosure's hideout. But when you're travelling with twin stars one of whom rarely speak the truth and the other who believes almost everything–great lessons in fake news here–the journey is not a straightforward one. In fact, it is a drawn-out quest that takes them to different Chunk Planets, comets and more where they meet a blue supergiant star, a protostar and even a disguised black hole.

From Astronautical! written and illustrated by Brooklin Stormie

Even with obstacles thrown at them, the two boys, very different in their personalities, work together and discover that their differences are their strengths and would allow them to not only find their father but to also find a way to make things right for the Planet Zephyr.

From Astronautical! written and illustrated by Brooklin Stormie

Astronautical! is a rollicking middle-grade adventure for lovers of fantasy, astronomy, and good humour. The plot is wholly unpredictable, mostly because the characters range from human-like creatures to astronomical ones with the powers to alter their structures and abilities and interact with others. Brooklin Stormie, an artist from Peterborough, Ontario, has found an imaginative way to blend fantasy with science, merging a heroes' quest in a cosmic setting with legitimate elements of which young readers will want to learn more. (Brooklin Stormie includes extensive notes about sky-whales, black holes, star songs, and more in her appended notes called, "The Real Science (and Totally Not-Real Science) in Astronautical!") It's all very accessible, playful and captivating, and readers will never anticipate how it will end. 

Astronautical! is Brooklin Stormie's story but, as an illustrator, the artwork is what makes Astronautical! sparkle. Between weird characters and some strange abilities–though perhaps not really strange in an astronomical setting–as well as a variety of settings, from a convenience store to a desert, a planet separated into chunks, and more, Brooklin Stormie gives readers something fantastical and scientific. Quite extraordinary or, dare I say it, Astronautical!

2025 Forest Teen Committee Summer Reading List

 
While young readers in Grades 3 to 8 were working on the Forest Kid Committees to select summer reading lists for their peers, so too were high school readers of the White Pine Teen Committee. Here are their selections for their 2025 Summer Reading List:

WHITE PINE

 

Curious Tides (The Drowned Gods, 1)

Written by Pascale Lacelle 

Simon and Schuster Canada

560 pp.

Ages 14+

2024

 

The Lady of Rapture (Bones of Ruin, 3)

Written by Sarah Raughley 

Margaret K. McElderry Books

512 pp.

Ages 14+

2025

Wicked Darlings 

Written by Jordyn Taylor 

Delacorte Press

277 pp.

Ages 12+

2025

 

The Queen’s Spade 

Written by Sarah Raughley 

HarperCollins

416 pp.

Ages 14-17

2025

 

Defy 

Written by Sara de Waard 

DCB Young Readers

208 pp.

Ages 12-18

2024

 

Meet Me at Blue Hour 

Written by Sarah Suk 

Quill Tree Books

288 pp.

Ages 13-17

2025

 

Messy Perfect 

Written by Tanya Boteju 

Quill Tree Books

400 pp.

Ages 13-17

2025

 

Bad Cree 

Written by Jessica Johns 

HarperCollins  

304 pp.

Ages 18+

2023

Untethered Sky 

Written by Fonda Lee 

Tordotcom

160 pp.

Ages 18+

2023

 

To Steal from Thieves (Thieves and Kings, 1)

Written by M.K. Lobb 

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

400 pp.

Ages 14+

2025 

 

 

A downloadable list and a printable poster are available from the Forest of Reading® Committees' page:

• Teen Summer Reading List
• Poster