Orca Biography

In 1841, a 12-year-old enslaved boy, Edmond Albius, made history when he discovered how to hand-pollinate vanilla plants using a bamboo twig. Until that time, only bees in Mexico could pollinate the plant-botanists couldn't figure out another way. With his master, Edmond travelled around Réunion Island to share his technique, le geste d'Edmonde (Edmond's gesture), which is still in use today. Despite his important achievement, as an enslaved person Edmond didn't receive payment or recognition for his contribution to science, eventually dying in poverty after being freed from slavery in 1848. Today it is recognized that Edmond's method of pollination was key to bringing vanilla to the world, helped to create a billion-dollar industry and gave us the flavor we love to use in cooking, baking, medicine and, of course, ice cream. Key Selling Points • This STEAM title tells the true story of how Edmond Albius, an enslaved 12-year-old boy from Réunion Island, discovered how to hand-pollinate vanilla plants in 1841, leading to the birth of the global vanilla industry. • Le geste d'Edmond, or Edmond's technique, is still the only way vanilla is pollinated and produced today. It is one of the most widely used spices around the world and can be used in baking, cooking and medicine, among many other products. • This book deals with topics including racism, enslavement, prejudice, the scientific method, discovery and innovation. • The book uses extensive primary research, including census information and newspaper articles from the time, to tell Edmond's story. • The author is a Jamaican Canadian living in Brampton, Ontario. This is her first book. Part of the Orca Biography series for middle-grade readers, this illustrated nonfiction book tells the story of how Edmond Albius, an enslaved boy, discovered how to hand-pollinate vanilla, a technique that is still used all over the world today. Ann Richards is a Jamaican Canadian writer from Brampton, Ontario, who has always wanted to write books about African history. She enjoys studying and writing about different cultures. One day she plans to visit Ghana's Elmina slave castle, known as the Door of No Return, to research more stories. Ann has written for the London Free Press and Tekawennake News. The True Story of Vanilla: How Edmond Albius Made History is Ann's debut book. Arden Taylor is a Toronto-based freelance illustrator. A graduate of Sheridan College with an honors bachelor of illustration, she enjoys digitally creating colorful illustrations of architecture and people and designs for wallpaper and other projects. Her clients include Hazlitt Magazine and the California Institute of Technology, and her work has been featured in various magazines, newspapers, advertising campaigns and websites. What's in a name? Orca Biography introduces you to people you should know. Meet trailblazers, game changers and activists. They fight for equality, fairness and justice for everyone. Let them inspire you! A Delicious Discovery

As a young child, Phymean Noun dreamed of learning to read and write. But growing up during the Khmer Rouge reign of terror in Cambodia in the 1970s made that dream impossible. Formal education was not only forbidden at that time but also could result in a death sentence. When the Khmer Rouge government was eventually overthrown, Phymean was finally able to go to school and fulfill the promise she made to herself as a young girl. Years later, when Phymean was working in Phnom Penh, she met several unhoused and hungry child laborers who were unable to get an education because they had to work to feed their families. Like Phymean, their greatest dream was to go to school. Phymean knew she had to help. She left a stable job and salary behind to start the People Improvement Organization (PIO) in 2002, an NGO that educated, fed and also housed children in need. Since its founding, PIO has helped 8,000 children accomplish their dream of receiving an education. Key Selling Points • This SEL title introduces young readers to Phymean Noun, who built a school for Cambodian children living and working in a garbage dump. She became an education activist because as a young girl growing up under the Khmer Rouge government, going to school was illegal and Phymean didn't think she would ever learn to read and write. • This book deals with topical issues including inequity, accessibility and poverty. Phymean's advocacy and activism meets several UN Sustainable Development Goals, including: quality education, good health and well-being, no poverty, zero hunger, reduced inequalities and decent work (and economic growth). • Phymean's nonprofit the People Improvement Organization (PIO) helps 1,500 kids in Cambodia every year with education, healthcare and food. • The author interviewed Phymean and members of her family for this book. She has also traveled to Cambodia to meet Phymean and was able to tour one of her schools. • This manuscript was reviewed by Dr. Theara Thun, a Cambodian and Southeast Asian specialist at the University of Hong Kong. Susan Hughes writes both fiction and nonfiction books for kids and teens. • This book is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Part of the Orca Biography series for middle-grade readers, this illustrated nonfiction book introduces young readers to Phymean Noun and her mission to give Cambodian children living in poverty access to education. Susan Hughes is a freelance editor, writer, story coach and the author of many books of fiction and nonfiction for kids and teens. Her books have received multiple nominations for awards, such as the Forest of Reading awards, the TD Children's Literature Awards, and the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction. Susan lives in Toronto in a tall house with a red door. Tida Kheav is a Cambodian Canadian illustrator based in Montreal. She grew up in Windsor, Ontario, where she spent much of her childhood buried in books or filling sketchbooks with whimsical characters and dreamy worlds. Today, she brings those worlds to life through both digital and traditional art-and sometimes clay, ceramics or watercolors, too! With a background in social work, she believes in the power of visual storytelling to connect, heal and spark imagination. When she's not drawing, she's probably baking something sweet or dreaming up her next adventure. What's in a name? Orca Biography introduces you to people you should know. Meet trailblazers, game changers and activists. They fight for equality, fairness and justice for everyone. Let them inspire you! "We want to go to school."

In 1841, a 12-year-old enslaved boy, Edmond Albius, made history when he discovered how to hand-pollinate vanilla plants using a bamboo twig. Until that time, only bees in Mexico could pollinate the plant-botanists couldn't figure out another way. With his master, Edmond travelled around Réunion Island to share his technique, le geste d'Edmonde (Edmond's gesture), which is still in use today. Despite his important achievement, as an enslaved person Edmond didn't receive payment or recognition for his contribution to science, eventually dying in poverty after being freed from slavery in 1848. Today it is recognized that Edmond's method of pollination was key to bringing vanilla to the world, helped to create a billion-dollar industry and gave us the flavor we love to use in cooking, baking, medicine and, of course, ice cream. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible. Key Selling Points • This STEAM title tells the true story of how Edmond Albius, an enslaved 12-year-old boy from Réunion Island, discovered how to hand-pollinate vanilla plants in 1841, leading to the birth of the global vanilla industry. • Le geste d'Edmond, or Edmond's technique, is still the only way vanilla is pollinated and produced today. It is one of the most widely used spices around the world and can be used in baking, cooking and medicine, among many other products. • This book deals with topics including racism, enslavement, prejudice, the scientific method, discovery and innovation. • The book uses extensive primary research, including census information and newspaper articles from the time, to tell Edmond's story. • The author is a Jamaican Canadian living in Brampton, Ontario. This is her first book. Part of the Orca Biography series for middle-grade readers, this illustrated nonfiction book tells the story of how Edmond Albius, an enslaved boy, discovered how to hand-pollinate vanilla, a technique that is still used all over the world today. Ann Richards is a Jamaican Canadian writer from Brampton, Ontario, who has always wanted to write books about African history. She enjoys studying and writing about different cultures. One day she plans to visit Ghana's Elmina slave castle, known as the Door of No Return, to research more stories. Ann has written for the London Free Press and Tekawennake News. The True Story of Vanilla: How Edmond Albius Made History is Ann's debut book. Arden Taylor is a Toronto-based freelance illustrator. A graduate of Sheridan College with an honors bachelor of illustration, she enjoys digitally creating colorful illustrations of architecture and people and designs for wallpaper and other projects. Her clients include Hazlitt Magazine and the California Institute of Technology, and her work has been featured in various magazines, newspapers, advertising campaigns and websites. What's in a name? Orca Biography introduces you to people you should know. Meet trailblazers, game changers and activists. They fight for equality, fairness and justice for everyone. Let them inspire you! A delicious discovery. In 1841, 12-year-old Edmond Albius made history when he hand-pollinated a vanilla plant using a bamboo twig. Until then people thought only bees in Mexico could pollinate the plant, making vanilla expensive and rare. His discovery brought vanilla to the world. As an enslaved person, Edmond didn't get credit or payment for his achievement. He became a free man in 1848, but died in poverty years later. Today Edmond is recognized for starting the billion-dollar vanilla industry and giving us the flavor we love to use in baking, medicine and, of course, ice cream. A Delicious Discovery

As a young child, Phymean Noun dreamed of learning to read and write. But growing up during the Khmer Rouge reign of terror in Cambodia in the 1970s made that dream impossible. Formal education was not only forbidden at that time but also could result in a death sentence. When the Khmer Rouge government was eventually overthrown, Phymean was finally able to go to school and fulfill the promise she made to herself as a young girl. Years later, when Phymean was working in Phnom Penh, she met several unhoused and hungry child laborers who were unable to get an education because they had to work to feed their families. Like Phymean, their greatest dream was to go to school. Phymean knew she had to help. She left a stable job and salary behind to start the People Improvement Organization (PIO) in 2002, an NGO that educated, fed and also housed children in need. Since its founding, PIO has helped 8,000 children accomplish their dream of receiving an education. Key Selling Points • This SEL title introduces young readers to Phymean Noun, who built a school for Cambodian children living and working in a garbage dump. She became an education activist because as a young girl growing up under the Khmer Rouge government, going to school was illegal and Phymean didn't think she would ever learn to read and write. • This book deals with topical issues including inequity, accessibility and poverty. Phymean's advocacy and activism meets several UN Sustainable Development Goals, including: quality education, good health and well-being, no poverty, zero hunger, reduced inequalities and decent work (and economic growth). • Phymean's nonprofit the People Improvement Organization (PIO) helps 1,500 kids in Cambodia every year with education, healthcare and food. • The author interviewed Phymean and members of her family for this book. She has also traveled to Cambodia to meet Phymean and was able to tour one of her schools. • This manuscript was reviewed by Dr. Theara Thun, a Cambodian and Southeast Asian specialist at the University of Hong Kong. Susan Hughes writes both fiction and nonfiction books for kids and teens. • This book is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Part of the Orca Biography series for middle-grade readers, this illustrated nonfiction book introduces young readers to Phymean Noun and her mission to give Cambodian children living in poverty access to education. Susan Hughes is a freelance editor, writer, story coach and the author of many books of fiction and nonfiction for kids and teens. Her books have received multiple nominations for awards, such as the Forest of Reading awards, the TD Children's Literature Awards, and the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction. Susan lives in Toronto in a tall house with a red door. Tida Kheav is a Cambodian Canadian illustrator based in Montreal. She grew up in Windsor, Ontario, where she spent much of her childhood buried in books or filling sketchbooks with whimsical characters and dreamy worlds. Today, she brings those worlds to life through both digital and traditional art-and sometimes clay, ceramics or watercolors, too! With a background in social work, she believes in the power of visual storytelling to connect, heal and spark imagination. When she's not drawing, she's probably baking something sweet or dreaming up her next adventure. What's in a name? Orca Biography introduces you to people you should know. Meet trailblazers, game changers and activists. They fight for equality, fairness and justice for everyone. Let them inspire you! "We want to go to school."