Grass Roots Press: 100 books

This biography of Emily Carr is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Emily Carr (1871-1945) is one of Canada's most honoured artists. As a female artist in the 1900s, she struggled to make ends meet. Carr tried to capture Canada's spirit by...

This biography of Malala is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Malala (1997 -     ) 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 known...

This book about The Famous Five is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Although not as well-known as some other social activists, The Famous Five deserve their place in history for fighting for the rights of women in the early 1900s. They helped...

This biography of Wangari Maathai is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Wangari Maathai (1940 -     ) formed the Green Belt Movement, an organization that paid poor women to plant trees, in 1977. The movement started in Kenya and...

This biography of Bruce Lee is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Bruce Lee (1940 - 1973), to some, remains the greatest martial artist of all time. Born in San Francisco, he spent much of his childhood in Hong Kong, where he developed an...

This book about Elizabeth Fry is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) visited Newgate prison in 1812. She was horrified by the crowded and dirty prison conditions. The women did their own cooking and washing in the...

This biography of Jean Vanier is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Vanier (1928-    ) is the founder of L'Arche, an international organization which creates communities where people with developmental disabilities and those who...

This biography of Will Rogers is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Will Rogers (1879-1935) was born in the Indian Territory, now known as Oklahoma. His fascination with rope tricks and the lasso led him to perform on the vaudeville stage...

This biography about Muhammad Ali is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Born Cassius Clay, Ali (1942-    ) brought unprecedented speed and grace to the sport of boxing. The phrase "floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee" comes...

This book about Jane Goodall is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Goodall (1934-    ) dreamed at a young age of going to Africa to live with animals. Her dream came true and she spent over 25 years studying chimpanzees in the Gombe...

This biography of Helen Keller is a high interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Helen Keller (1880 - 1968) 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 frustrated and...

This biography of Nancy Greene is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Nancy Greene (1943-     ) is the best known name in Canadian skiing. As a teenager, she was nicknamed "Tiger" for speed and courage. She went on to win gold in...

This biography of Laura Secord is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Laura Secord (1775-1868) 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 ambush the British....

This biography of Rick Hansen is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Hansen (1957-    ) suffered an accident and was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life at the age of 15. Unwilling to let his disability hold him back,...