Jessica Dee Humphreys
ABOUT
Jessica Dee Humphreys is a writer, editor, and indexer specializing in Canadian, international humanitarian, security, and children's issues.
Her work (as author, co-author, and ghostwriter) has been published in best-selling books around the world, as well as appearing in the New York Times, Maclean's, Canada's History Magazine, the National Post, Reader's Digest, the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. She has a Master's Degree in English Literature from Queen's University.
REVIEWS
Praise for The International Day of the Girl
* "This nonfiction volume introduces heavy issues in the context of child-led social change, a powerful method that inspires hope rather than despair. Engaging, age-appropriate, and eye-opening." — Kirkus Reviews, ​Starred Review
​* "One of the many striking elements of this collaboration is how explicitly the authors depict sexism, leaving readers with no doubt as to the dangers that surround girls all over the world. ... The ultimate message is straightforward: it’s time for the world to notice gender inequality and change it." — Booklist, Starred Review
"These stories are filled with hope. ... this is a solid addition to the upper elementary nonfiction shelves or separate collections highlighting women’s studies or gender equality." — School Library Journal
2022 - Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading Award (nominated)
2021 - Skipping Stones Honour Award
Praise for They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children
“Discover for yourself the compassion that shines through in this book. . . .Heartbreaking and informative. . . it’s also infectious and refreshing.” — The Gazette
“As a documentation of the changing face of modern global warfare it is a must-read.” — Telegraph-Journal
"...powerful, devastating, and heart-wrenching .... your heart will be ripped out, graphically sliced into two .... so gripping, well written, emotional, and raw..." - New York Journal of Books
“A compelling, moving and insightful book that exposes the problem of child soldiers in all its dimensions. . . Refreshingly sincere.” — Samantha Nutt, The Globe and Mail (Best Book)
“Gripping.” — Calgary Herald
​“Painful but beautifully rendered.” — The Vancouver Sun
​
Praise for Waiting for First Light
"An eloquent cautionary tale.... This is a valuable and rare look into the soul of one who suffers from PTSD.... an important read. — Globe and Mail
“Brutally revealing. . . . Dallaire’s raw and emotionally devastating new book lays bare his own inner torment. . . . If PTSD has had a face in Canada over the last twenty years, it is Roméo Dallaire’s. His life story, in effect, is a personal history of how Canada, and the modern world in general, has responded to PTSD.” —Maclean’s
“An important petition for a greater understanding of our returning veterans.” —National Post
​"The author’s own prose glows with rage. . . . it is an intensely raw memoir that exposes his every last frailty and vulnerability."
— Quill & Quire
Praise for Child Soldier
* “An enlightening, accessible, and, above all, child-friendly introduction to the issue.” — School Library Journal, Starred Review
* “... Child Soldier conveys Michel's horrific experience with sensitivity, insight, and skill ... also providing readers with relevant information about the geography and history of the country.” — Quill & Quire, Starred Review
“... the direct first-person narration lays bare the boy's confusion and pain ...[while] Dávila's panel sequences temper the story's atrocities ...” — Publishers Weekly
“Graphic in format but not detail ...The visual element gives this memoir particular immediacy for audiences who "don't understand what is happening right now, to kids just like them."” — Kirkus Reviews
“... eye-opening and heartbreaking ...” — Quill & Quire
“An unforgettable book that provides factual information about civil wars and especially child soldiers.” — Resource Links
“The narration includes enough history of the Congo to give context to the personal story, while the back matter provides more information about child soldiers.” — Booklist
Awards for Child Soldier: How Boys and Girls are Used in War
2018 - Grand Canyon Reader Award, Nominated
2017 - Red Maple Award, Winner
2017 - Golden Oak Award, Nominated
2016 - 2016 Book of the Year for Children Award,
Canadian Library Association, Short-listed
2016 - Best Books for Kids & Teens, starred,
Canadian Children's Book Centre, Winner
2016 - 2016/2017 Children's Choice Book Award,
Hackmatack, Long-listed
2016 - ALSC Notable Children's Books - 2016 (Older Readers),
American Library Association, Long-listed
2016 - Honor Book, Skipping Stones, Winner
2016 - Information Book Award,
Children's Literature Roundtable of Canada, Short-listed
2016 - 2016 Great Graphic Novels for Teens,
YALSA, Long-listed
2016 - Best Publication for Kids,
Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, Long-listed
2015 - Best Bets Junior Non-Fiction,
Ontario Library Association, Winner