• Age: 6 to 10
• Grade: 1 to 4

Meet David Suzuki: scientist, educator, and environmental activist!

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.

As a young boy, David Suzuki loved spending time in the glorious British Columbia outdoors with his father. The racist policies against Japanese Canadians during World War II put an abrupt end to that when David’s family was sent to a Japanese internment camp in 1942. After the war, the Suzuki family was forced to leave B.C., settling in Ontario. David immersed himself in learning, earning a PhD in zoology, becoming a professor, and eventually taking his love of science education into the public sphere with his shows on CBC radio and television. His connection to nature, commitment as a scientist, and media presence found David among the first to raise the alarm on how human behaviour is endangering all life on Earth. He has worked tirelessly to bring attention and, more importantly, offer solutions to this critical issue. Climate change is one of the most important issues of our time, and David Suzuki has led the charge in education and activism in Canada for decades.

Written by award-winning author Elizabeth MacLeod, this portrait of David Suzuki couples simple yet compelling writing with comic-flavoured illustrations by Mike Deas that help bring this fascinating story to life!

Liz is one nosy author, which is why she loves writing non-fiction. She’s very curious about why people do what they do, and likes sharing with kids the amazing facts and secrets that she uncovers.As a kid in Thornhill, Ontario, the idea of being a writer never crossed Liz’s mind—she figured most authors were already dead and they definitely weren’t Canadian. Besides, it was science that interested Liz.But writing was already part of Liz’s life. After dinner on school nights, Liz and her two brothers would trudge up to their rooms, close their doors and start to do their homework—or so their parents thought. A few minutes later, a piece of paper would come sliding under Liz’s door. One of her brothers had drawn a picture, usually of some weird creature.Liz really couldn’t draw (still can’t!), so the only way she could respond was to write a short story, often about a mad scientist or space alien. She would slip the story under her brother’s door and—well, not a lot of homework got done.At university, Liz studied sciences—there was hardly any writing involved at all. But after university, she was hired as an editor at OWL magazine, where she could combine writing and her love of science. But it wasn’t long before Liz had a goal: to write a book. Her first one was about lions and since then she’s written more than fifty others.Royal Murder: The Deadly Intrigue of Ten Sovereigns (2008) is one of her favourite books because royalty has always fascinated Liz. She loved going behind the scenes with monarchs from Cleopatra to Dracula to find out just what they would do to hold onto power or protect their families.Bones Never Lie: How Forensics Helps Solve History’s Mysteries (2013) was the winner of numerous awards, including the Crime Writers of Canada 2014 Arthur Ellis Award in the Juvenile/YA category. Liz’s latest book with Annick Press, Galloping Through History: Incredible True Horse Stories (Spring 2015), combines, once again, her outstanding storytelling skills with her passion for history. This time her love of animals also shines through as she recounts the stories of six horses that changed the way humans live, travel, fight, work, and play.Liz lives in Toronto with her husband, Paul, and their cat Cosimo. While she writes, he is usually sprawled across her desk—often right on the book she needs for research!

Elizabeth MacLeod's profile page

Mike Deas est auteur-illustrateur de bandes dessinées, telles que Tank and Fizz and The Case of the Tentacle Terror. Il signe aussi les illustrations de la série Graphic Guide Adventure. Sa passion pour l'illustration a été entretenue tout au long de son enfance à l'île Saltspring, en Colombie-Britannique où il habite encore aujourd'hui.

MIKE DEAS is an author/illustrator of graphic novels, most recently Tank and Fizz and the Case of the Tentacle Terror. He is the illustrator of the Graphic Guide Adventure series. His love for illustrative storytelling comes from an early love of reading and drawing while growing up on Saltspring Island, British Columbia. Visit him online at www.deasillustration.com.

Mike Deas' profile page

• Short-listed, Hackmatack Children's Choice Award (Atlantic Canada)
• Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Starred Selection
• Commended, OLA Best Bets, Honourable Mention

. . . MacLeod expertly integrates important themes by highlighting Suzuki’s motivations: a deep respect for nature inspired by his father, the passion for civil rights driven by his experiences as a Japanese Canadian, and a love of public speaking, genetics, and environmentalism that shaped his career and activism. MacLeod’s narrative is enriched by Deas’s illustrations, which infuse the reading experience with relatability. (Meet David Suzuki) — Quill & Quire

“ . . . Meet Chris Hadfield delves a little deeper and gives children the anecdotes that will be most relevant to them. It’s about dreaming and working hard and having fun while engaging with others about your passion.” (Meet Chris Hadfield) — CanLit for Little Canadians

“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

"In this biography, young readers learn about the remarkable life of David Suzuki — from his boyhood fishing trips that gave him an appreciation for the natural world and his experiences in a Japanese internment camp during World War II to how he immersed himself in learning, becoming a professor and a scientist." (Meet David Suzuki) — Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens, Starred