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Author Deborah Kerbel

Canadian Children's Book Week Presentation

Classrooms & Homeschoolers (Grades 4-8)

Join author Deborah Kerbel for a virtual presentation on her thought-provoking graphic novel Fred & Marjorie. There will be time for Q & A at the end of the presentation. Ideal for children in grades 4 to 8.

Teachers and educators can register themselves for the program and broadcast the live feed to their classrooms. When registering please include the approximate number of children that will be viewing using the questions at the bottom of the registration form.

Individuals and homeschool families are also welcome to register and take part in this virtual presentation.

About the Presentation

During this 60-minute presentation, Deborah will discuss and expand on the historical and scientific themes from her graphic novel, Fred & Marjorie, starting with an explanation of what diabetes is, how it used to be treated before insulin, the role of insulin in the body, and the process by which it was discovered by Banting and Best in Ontario in 1921. Deborah will also discuss the role of the insulin dogs in this discovery, and touch on the ethics of using animals in medical research. 

The final 10-15 minutes of the presentation will be available for Q & A.

About the Book

In 1921, Frederick Banting was a young doctor with an idea: could the mysterious secretions of the pancreas be used to treat diabetes? We now call this substance insulin, and its life-saving discovery was an impactful milestone in medical science. Banting and his assistant, Charles Best, worked together in a small lab to test the theory with street dogs. Banting formed a special bond with one of his test dogs and gave her a name: Marjorie. After Marjorie responded well to insulin treatments, the treatments went on to be used for humans with diabetes—and the results were deemed practically miraculous. A real-life scientific milestone told in an innovative graphic novel format, the book also thoughtfully discusses the use of animals for medical research.

Programmer:  Kerstin