eBooks

Riel helped win some rights for the Métis during the 1800s. He was hanged for treason. Today, many people think Louis Riel is a hero.

David Suzuki has become a household name in Canada and much of North America. He has spent the past 40 years educating the public about environment...

Malala was lucky. Her parents knew the value of an education for both boys and girls, so Malala was sent to school and excelled. Today, Malala is k...

Big Bear was a famous Cree leader who hoped for peace between the white settlers and the Cree. He signed a peace treaty with the Blackfoot, believi...

Helen Keller learned to speak, read, and write in spite of becoming blind and deaf at the age of two due to an illness. As a child, Helen was frust...

Martin Luther King Jr. was the dominant force in the civil rights movement during its decade of greatest achievement, from 1957 to 1968. He believe...

Tommy Prince (1915-1977) grew up on the Brokenhead Reserve, part of the Ojibway Nation. He joined the Canadian Army and quickly became a part of th...

As a young girl, Jane Goodall dreamed of going to Africa to live with animals. Her dream came true and she spent over 25 years studying chimpanzees...

Michaëlle Jean and her family fled Haiti to escape Duvalier's regime. She came to Canada as a refugee. Michaëlle worked as a journalist and broad...

Poundmaker (1842-1886) was a Plains Cree chief known as a peacemaker and defender of his people.

Wayne Gretzky is a household name across North America. In 1998, he was named the greatest player in National Hockey League history by The Hockey N...

Many people have not heard of The Famous Five. Yet, these five women fought for women's rights in the early 1900s. They helped women win the right ...

As a boxer, Muhammad brought unprecedented speed and grace to the sport of boxing. The phrase “floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee” comes...

Nancy Greene is the best known name in Canadian skiing. As a teenager, she was nicknamed “Tiger” for her speed and courage.

To some, Bruce Lee remains the greatest martial artist of all time. Born in San Francisco, he spent much of his childhood in Hong Kong, where he de...

Maria Tallchief (1925-2013) was a famous prima ballerina. Born to a father from the Osage tribe and a mother with Scottish and Irish heritage, Mari...

Norman Bethune (1890-1939) was a doctor who devoted his life to helping others. Bethune's fame in Canada has resulted from his status as a hero in...

Emily Carr (1871-1945) is one of Canada's most honored artists. As a female artist in the 1900s, she struggled to make ends meet. Emily tried to ...

Fannie Lou Hamer grew up in the South at the time of the Jim Crow laws. “Sick and tired” of being treated like a second-class citizen, Hamer overca...

June Callwood's career was marked by a strong concern for social justice, especially on issues affecting children and women. She became one of Cana...

Mother Teresa spent her life working with the poorest of the poor. In 1948, she left her convent and started a school in the slums. By 1950, Mother...

In 1955, a young black woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. This act of courage sparked the Montgomery...

Cesar Chavez quit school after Grade 8 to help support his family. He laboured in the fields as a migrant farm worker. In 1962, Cesar founded and l...

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery around 1822. Between 1850 to 1860, Harriet helped about 70 slaves escape to freedom. She relied on the Undergr...

Charles Lindbergh, an American aviator, made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20-21, 1927.

Learn about three women who had the “right stuff”: Valentina Tereshkova, Sally Ride, and Roberta Bondar. The U.S.S.R. sent Valentina Tereshkova int...

At the age of 23, Althea Gibson broke the colour barrier when she played in the U.S Open. She was the first black person to win the U.S. Open and W...

The name of Walt Disney is known around the world. As a boy, Walt Disney delivered newspapers in the early morning in all kinds of weather for six ...

In 1977, Wangari Maathai formed the Green Belt Movement, an organization that paid poor women to plant trees. The movement started in Kenya and soo...

An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with bone cancer. His right leg was amputated 15 cen...

At the age of 15, Rick Hansen suffered an accident and was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Unwilling to let his disability hold ...

Oskar Schindler risked his life to protect the lives of the Jewish people who worked for him during the reign of Hitler. As the horror of the Holoc...

Laura Secord found herself caught up in the War of 1812 after U.S. troops took over her family’s home. She overheard the U.S. troops’ plans to ambu...

Gandhi became one of the most respected political and spiritual leaders of the 1900s. He lived a spiritual and simple life of prayer, fasting, and ...

Robert Peary and Matthew Henson opened up the gateway to the North Pole. In 1909, they became the first people to reach the North Pole.

Nelson Mandela is the most widely-known figure in the struggle against South African apartheid. He spent 27 years in prison for his beliefs. He was...