A Poppy Is to Remember

How did the bright red poppy that we all wear in November become Canada's symbol of honouring those who fought for our freedom on Remembrance Day?

Moving text coupled with stunning illustrations by Governor General's Award-winning artist Ron Lightburn explain the symbolism behind the poppy.

A bonus for teachers is the five-page spread all about the poem, "In Flanders Fields," Canada's wartime and peacekeeping endeavours, and the adoption of the poppy as our Remembrance Day emblem.

HEATHER PATTERSON is the author of Thanks for Thanksgiving, Pioneer Christmas Crafts, A Poppy Is to Remember and Canada From Above, all published by Scholastic Canada, Ltd. A former elementary school teacher and children's book editor, Heather is a fiercely proud Canadian. She lives in Etobicoke, Ontario.

Ron Lightburn is an internationally renowned illustrator of books for children. He has currently completed a picture book, Wild Girl and Gran by Nan Gregory. He has collaborated with Nan Gregory once before, on the award-winning How Smudge Came. His illustrations in the picture book Waiting for the Whales earned him the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustration, the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award for Illustration and the Elizabeth Mrazik Cleaver Picture Book Award.