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A Summer of Dragonflies

A Summer of Dragonflies

Natasha Deen (Author) See More (10)
JUVENILE FICTION
Travel | Diversity & Multicultural
Cormorant Books
4 - 5
9 - 12
2026 Spring
Junior & Intermediate Fiction
CELAAmazonIndigo
Paperback
9781770868007
$14.95 CAD
English
09/13/2025
EPUB [reflow]
9781770868014
$13.99 CAD
English
09/13/2025
Braille
XXX0000469
English
09/13/2025
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Description

Guppie Persaud wants to be a hero, but most days, she feels more like a terminally shy zero.

Then her dad gets chosen for a yearlong teacher exchange program, and the whole family packs up for a big move. This is Guppie’s chance to prove she's a hero with a real adventure, starting by hatching a plan with her brothers to secretly enter an online photography contest, win cellphones, and finally override their parents' outdated no-phones rule.

But the three-week road trip from Calgary to their new home in New York City includes no A/C in the van, no cellphones, and no escape from her technophobe parents’ old-people music.

No matter, because every hero’s quest has obstacles, and Guppie is determined to make the most of her summer on the road and go from shy zero to epic hero.

Natasha Deen

Author Bio

Natasha Deen is a best-selling and award-winning Guyanese-Canadian author, with books for children, young adults, and adults. She is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal. Her novel In the Key of Nira Ghani won the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award. Her works have also been nominated for the OLA Forest of Reading Red Maple Award, R. Ross Annett Award, Sunburst Award, Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, and Alberta Readers’ Choice Award. Natasha teaches in the Creative Writing Program with the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies and lives in Edmonton, Alberta.

Prizes

  • The Children’s Book Council Middle-Grade FavoritesJoint winner 2026

Review Quotes

“All readers have their own dragons inside them somewhere to either conquer or learn to coexist with and this story shows readers that there can be many ways to accomplish that.”  — Storytime with Stephanie
“A Summer Of Dragonflies is a magical read that encourages us to face our own dragons with a courageous, curious heart — and reminds us that we don’t have to do it alone.” Starred Review
“Deen’s engaging tale explores finding courage and embracing challenges ... An entertaining take on the hero’s journey, with well-developed characters on a road trip to remember.”  — Kirkus Reviews