Grass Roots Press: 100 books

This biography of Walt Disney is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Walt Disney (1901 - 1966) is a name known around the world. As a boy, Walt Disney delivered newspapers in the early morning in all kinds of weather for six years. Learning...

This biography of Eleanor Roosevelt is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) was First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She was a shy, awkward child who became an orphan at the age of ten. Eleanor was...

This biography of Nelson Mandela is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) is the most widely known figure in the struggle against South African apartheid. He spent 27 years in prison for his beliefs. He was released...

This biography of Rosa Parks is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Rosa Parks (1913-2005), as a young black woman in 1955, refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. This act of courage sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Today, people remember Rosa Parks as the Mother of the civil rights movement.

This biography of Mother Teresa is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Mother Teresa (1910-1997) spent her life working with the poorest of the poor. In 1948, she left her convent and started a school in the slums of Calcutta. By 1950, Mother...

This biography of Fannie Lou Hamer is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) grew up in the American South at the time of the Jim Crow laws. "Sick and tired" of being treated like a second-class citizen, Hamer overcame...

This biography of the Dalai Lama is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. The Dalai Lamal (1935-    ) is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people. After China took control of Tibet in 1951, the Dalai Lama was forced...

This biography of Cesar Chavez is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) 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 led the first successful farm workers' union in U.S. history.

This biography of Althea Gibson is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Althea Gibson (1927-2003) broke the colour barrier when she played in the U.S. Open, at the age of 23. She was the first black person to win the U.S. Open and Wimbledon....

This biography of Louis Riel is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Louis Riel (1844-1885) helped win some rights for the Metis during the 1800s. Accused of murder, Riel fled to the U.S. and built a life in Montana. Upon his return to Canada,...

This biography of Mahatma Gandhi is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Gandhi (1869-1948) became one of the most respected political and spiritual leaders of the 1900s. He lived a spiritual and simple life of prayer, fasting, and meditation....

This biography of Wayne Gretzky is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. Wayne Gretzky (1961-    ) is a household name across North America. In 1998, Gretzky was named the greatest player in National Hockey League history by The Hockey...

This biography of Martin Luther King Jr. is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. King (1929-1968) was the dominant force in the civil rights movement during its decade of greatest achievement, from 1957 to 1968. King believed in changing the world through nonviolence. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

This biography of David Suzuki is a high-interest, low-vocabulary book for adolescents and adults with limited literacy skills. David Suzuki (1936-    ) has become a household name in Canada and much of North America. He has spent the past 40 years educating the public about environmental...