Betty Waterton, celebrated children’s author and illustrator, passed away on Aug. 7, according to a press release from her publisher, Fitzhenry & Whiteside. She was 88 years old.

The author of nearly 20 children’s books, she is best known for the classic A Salmon for Simon (illustrated by Ann Blades), which received the Governor General’s Literary award for children’s illustration, and the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award.

Waterton, a seventh-generation Canadian, was born in Oshawa, Ontario, in 1923. By the 1930s, her family had already lived in Manitoba and B.C. due to her father’s work with the Star Weekly.

Waterton was renowned for her interactive readings and presentations for children across Canada. Among her other reader favourites are Pettranella, Mustard, A Bumblebee Sweater, and the Quincy Rumpel series.