This nonfiction book makes a strong argument for why and how we all share the responsibility to use vaccines to slow the spread of infectious diseases. Each chapter combines historical and current information about vaccine development with a short profile of a racially diverse individual working in the medical field. For example, chapter four “Cleverness How Vaccines Work” opens with the author recalling her own polio vaccination hidden in a sugar cube. The text continues with a chronological discussion, including Louis Pasteur’s use of live vaccines and the work of newer scientists with mRNA and COVID-19. The “On the Job” profile spotlights a PhD graduate working with the pharmaceutical trials of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. The philosophical and religious motivations against vaccinations are mentioned. The author also acknowledges that vaccines may lead to rare, unexpected side effects. Younger students may benefit from reading alongside an adult who could explain concepts such as misinformation and vaccine hesitancy.

Other End Matter: Glossary
Images: Colour photographs, colour illustrations, charts, graph, teacher resource
Bibliography: Yes
Index: Yes

Evaluator: Lisa S., High School Librarian, BC Books for Schools

Rowena Rae worked as a biologist specializing in aquatic ecosystems in Canada and New Zealand before becoming a freelance writer, editor and children’s author. She is the author of Rachel Carson and Ecology for Kids, as well as Chemical World and Upstream, Downstream in the Orca Footprints line. Rowena writes both fiction and nonfiction from her home in Victoria, British Columbia.

Rowena Rae's profile page

Paige Stampatori is an illustrator based in Kitchener, Ontario. She graduated from Sheridan College's Illustration program in 2020. Typically working in editorial illustration, Paige loves to create graphic, colorful images that are conceptually strong. Her favorite part of the creative process is the ideation stage. She finds it exciting to think of interesting ways to convey a message through a single image.

Paige Stampatori's profile page

• Commended, Top Grade: CanLit for the Classroom
• Commended, Junior Library Guild (JLG) Gold Standard Selection

★ “Rae provides all the information readers want to know [and] skillfully broaches the topic of anti-vaccination…An engaging and informative nonfiction text with all the facts about vaccinations. A must-have for middle school libraries.”

School Library Journal (SLJ), starred review

“Blends personal stories with engaging nonfiction…A timely narrative for young readers living in the aftermath of COVID-19.”

Booklist

“Offers young audiences a detailed (…) account of the historical development of biological counters to diseases and epidemics.”

Kirkus Reviews

“An informative book that will engage young readers and possibly even inspire a next generation of medical researchers and practitioners. Everyone who reads will be better informed about an important topic of our times. I highly recommend Why We Need Vaccines...to inform and stimulate thoughtful conversations about vaccines in the past, the present, and the future.”

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“One of the more important books you can ever read. This book, although scientific, is a very easy read, one that everyone should take up to learn the importance of vaccinations in today’s life.”

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD)