Description
This timely and relevant collection of fascinating stories about groundbreaking Canadian women, present and past, offers an inspiring, one-of-a-kind look at Canadian history.
Canadian women have long been trailblazers, creating art, making discoveries and setting records --- and often battling incredible odds and discrimination in the process. Here, award-winning children's writer Elizabeth MacLeod presents biographies of more than one hundred of these remarkable women, from the famous, such as Margaret Atwood, to the lesser known, such as multi-award-winning mathematician Karen Yeats. There are stories of activists and architects, engineers and explorers, poets and politicians and so many more. Each category pairs a historical groundbreaker with a present-day woman making her mark in that same field. Included are stories of Indigenous women, immigrants, women with disabilities and women from the LGBTQ+ community. Together, they tell the story of Canada. And together they offer a vision of what's possible, to inspire all children to blaze trails of their own.
This unique look at Canadian history is engagingly written with a storyteller's touch, making this a book that will be read for both research and pleasure. Organized by profession, it includes women in science, the arts, sports, politics, activism, law, business and more. The clean, modern design, along with the color portraits of each woman by Maia Faddoul, make the pages accessible and inviting. This excellent resource for social studies lessons also contains a time line of significant dates in Canadian women's history, a list of author's sources, further resources and an index.
Author Bio
Elizabeth MacLeod has written more than 80 books, including biographies, picture books, cookbooks and other nonfiction titles. Dinosaurs, royal murder, forensic science, horses that changed history—she’s written about them all. Liz is a Member of the Order of Canada and has won the Sharon Fitzhenry Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction, the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile or Young Adult Crime Book. She has also won children’s choice awards across the country, including the Hackmatack, Red Cedar, Red Maple and Silver Birch. Liz's most recent books include How to Become an Accidental Activist and Get Out and Vote!. She lives in Toronto.
Prizes
- Light Reads, Great Stories List, Ontario Library AssociationWinner 2021
- Children's Choice Book Award, HackmatackShort-listed 2021
Review Quotes
Canadian Women Now and Then ... should be required reading for everyone!
— CM Magazine
Whether or not they are immediately recognizable, all of these women are unforgettable.
— Booklist
A recommended purchase for upper elementary and middle school libraries needing to build their reference section or nonfiction collection about women's history.
— School Library Journal
An inspiring resource for readers as well as a springboard for research.
— Kirkus Reviews
Biographical note
Elizabeth MacLeod has written many children's books, including nine titles in the Snapshots Biography series, numerous titles in the Kids Can Read, Kids Books Of and Kids Can Do It series, Why Do Horses Have Manes?, What Did Dinosaurs Eat?, and Monster Fliers. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.
