Description
The award-winning Scholastic Canada Biography series highlights the lives of remarkable Canadians whose achievements have inspired and changed the lives of those who followed.
Mary Ann Shadd was born free in 1823 in Delaware. Her parents were abolitionists, and their home was a station on the Underground Railroad. Her family moved to Canada in 1851 after the Fugitive Slave Act was enacted, and as a young woman, Shadd became a trailblazer in every realm she touched — opening a desegregated school in Chatham, Ontario; becoming the first Black female newspaper publisher in North America with the Provincial Freeman; becoming a suffrage activist; and at the age of 60 earning a law degree to become one of the first Black women to practice law!
Mary Ann was truly remarkable, for her time or any other, unafraid to speak up and fight for equal rights — for Black people, for women and for everybody.
Written by award-winning author Elizabeth MacLeod, this portrait of Mary Ann Shadd couples simple yet compelling writing with comic-flavoured illustrations by Mike Deas that help bring her fascinating story to life!
Author Bio
Elizabeth MacLeod has written more than 80 books, including biographies, picture books, cookbooks and other nonfiction titles. Dinosaurs, royal murder, forensic science, horses that changed history—she’s written about them all. Liz is a Member of the Order of Canada and has won the Sharon Fitzhenry Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction, the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile or Young Adult Crime Book. She has also won children’s choice awards across the country, including the Hackmatack, Red Cedar, Red Maple and Silver Birch. Liz's most recent books include How to Become an Accidental Activist and Get Out and Vote!. She lives in Toronto.
MIKE DEAS is an author and illustrator of many picture books and graphic novels, including the Bee & Flea series and the Sueno Bay Adventures. He lives with his family on sunny Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.
Prizes
- Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book CentreCommended 2022
- OLA Best Bets, Honourable Mention, Junior Non-FictionCommended 2022
- OLA Best Bets: Honourable MentionCommended 2022
Review Quotes
Meet Mary Ann Shadd, the ninth Scholastic Canada Biography written by Elizabeth MacLeod, is informative and engaging. MacLeod weaves the turbulent events of Shadd’s life into a rousing story that kids aren’t likely to forget; Shadd fought racism and sexism, and was even chased out of Canada because of her work as a suffragette. Mike Deas’s illustrations are bright and arresting, with a comic-book style that makes the biography accessible to a wide range of ages, regardless of reading level. The final pages offer a timeline of events and feature the only surviving photograph of the real Shadd, providing valuable information that will enable interested readers to learn even more about her life. Starred review. (Meet Mary Ann Shad) — Quill & Quire
"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." (Meet Mary Ann Shad) — CanLit for Little Canadians
Praise for Meet Elsie MacGill:
“Elizabeth MacLeod has written an outstanding book. The language is flowing and exciting, and there are speech and thought bubbles that add humour and break up the text making the information easier to absorb . . . The illustrations by Mike Deas are as strong and beautiful as the story.” (Meet Elsie MacGill) — CM: Canadian Review of Materials, 5/5 stars
