Meet Mary Ann Shadd

You may have seen them already, the Scholastic Canada Biography series written by Elizabeth McLeod and illustrated by Mike Deas are excellent narrative nonfiction picture books all about significant Canadian historical figures: Terry Fox, David Suzuki, Tom Longboat, etc. The newest Canadian figure is Mary Ann Shadd: anti-slave activist, newspaper publisher, and social justice pioneer.

I love how this book starts at the moment Mary Ann Shadd printed the first copy of her newspaper, the Provincial Freeman, before taking us further back in time to Mary Ann’s childhood and upbringing. I appreciated the start of the book being one of her biggest achievements. Readers can see throughout the narrative how Mary Ann’s childhood was a huge factor in her adult achievements. With parents, who were conductors on the Underground Railroad and who valued the education of all their children, ensuring they always lived in places where Mary Ann could go to school. 

Elizabeth McLeod does not skimp on detail. Through the story, readers gain the full perspective about Mary Ann Shadd. It feels like no stone is left unturned, like a complete account of Mary Ann’s life in a picture book which is really quite the feat. I also appreciated the timeline at the end of the book, although missing were some additional resources for readers who wish to explore more about some of the topics in the story such as the Provincial Freeman, the Underground Railroad, the suffrage movement, etc.

The illustrations by Mike Deas have a comic sensibility to them, with each illustration containing a speech bubble with text to further the information provided by the story. The illustrations are comprehensive and feel authentic to the time period of Mary Ann Shadd’s life while also bringing things back to the present at the very end.