Meet Elsie MacGill (Scholastic Canada Biography)
- Publisher
- Scholastic Canada Ltd
- Initial publish date
- Jul 2019
- Category
- Women, Science & Technology, Aeronautics, Astronautics & Space Science
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781443170208
- Publish Date
- Jul 2019
- List Price
- $16.99
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 6 to 10
- Grade: 1 to 5
Description
Meet Elsie MacGill — the world's first female aeronautical engineer!
In this amazing addition to the Scholastic Canada Biography series, young Canadians will learn about the trailblazing Elsie MacGill, whose work on the Canadian-made Hawker Hurricane fighter helped the Allied forces to victory in World War II.
Elsie was born in 1905 to a mother who was a feminist pioneer in her own right.Elsie grew up fully expecting to follow her dreams. And she did. Elsie was first woman to graduate from the University of Toronto's electrical engineering program. Elsie went on to earn a master's in aeronautical engineering —but contracted polio the day before her convocation. She battled back, and a storied engineering career followed, including being in charge of the tooling and manufacture of the famous Hawker Hurricane. Later in her life she was a champion of women's rights and her work shaped many of the protections we now enjoy.
Written by award-winning author Elizabeth MacLeod, this portrait of Elsie MacGill is the first ever written for younger readers. The simple text and full-colour, comic-flavoured illustrations by Mike Deas bring this fascinating story to life!
About the authors
Liz is one nosy author, which is why she loves writing non-fiction. She’s very curious about why people do what they do, and likes sharing with kids the amazing facts and secrets that she uncovers.As a kid in Thornhill, Ontario, the idea of being a writer never crossed Liz’s mind—she figured most authors were already dead and they definitely weren’t Canadian. Besides, it was science that interested Liz.But writing was already part of Liz’s life. After dinner on school nights, Liz and her two brothers would trudge up to their rooms, close their doors and start to do their homework—or so their parents thought. A few minutes later, a piece of paper would come sliding under Liz’s door. One of her brothers had drawn a picture, usually of some weird creature.Liz really couldn’t draw (still can’t!), so the only way she could respond was to write a short story, often about a mad scientist or space alien. She would slip the story under her brother’s door and—well, not a lot of homework got done.At university, Liz studied sciences—there was hardly any writing involved at all. But after university, she was hired as an editor at OWL magazine, where she could combine writing and her love of science. But it wasn’t long before Liz had a goal: to write a book. Her first one was about lions and since then she’s written more than fifty others.Royal Murder: The Deadly Intrigue of Ten Sovereigns (2008) is one of her favourite books because royalty has always fascinated Liz. She loved going behind the scenes with monarchs from Cleopatra to Dracula to find out just what they would do to hold onto power or protect their families.Bones Never Lie: How Forensics Helps Solve History’s Mysteries (2013) was the winner of numerous awards, including the Crime Writers of Canada 2014 Arthur Ellis Award in the Juvenile/YA category. Liz’s latest book with Annick Press, Galloping Through History: Incredible True Horse Stories (Spring 2015), combines, once again, her outstanding storytelling skills with her passion for history. This time her love of animals also shines through as she recounts the stories of six horses that changed the way humans live, travel, fight, work, and play.Liz lives in Toronto with her husband, Paul, and their cat Cosimo. While she writes, he is usually sprawled across her desk—often right on the book she needs for research!
Elizabeth MacLeod's profile page
Mike Deas est auteur-illustrateur de bandes dessinées, telles que Tank and Fizz and The Case of the Tentacle Terror. Il signe aussi les illustrations de la série Graphic Guide Adventure. Sa passion pour l'illustration a été entretenue tout au long de son enfance à l'île Saltspring, en Colombie-Britannique où il habite encore aujourd'hui.
MIKE DEAS is an author/illustrator of graphic novels, most recently Tank and Fizz and the Case of the Tentacle Terror. He is the illustrator of the Graphic Guide Adventure series. His love for illustrative storytelling comes from an early love of reading and drawing while growing up on Saltspring Island, British Columbia. Visit him online at www.deasillustration.com.
Awards
- Short-listed, Rocky Mountain Book Award (Alberta Children's Choice)
- Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre
- Short-listed, Hackmatack Children's Choice Award (Atlantic Canada)
- Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Starred Selection
- Commended, OLA Best Bets
Editorial Reviews
Praise for Scholastic Canada Biography:Short-listed, Rocky Mountain Book Award (Alberta Children's Choice), 2021Short-listed, Hackmatack Children's Choice Award (Atlantic Canada), 2020Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Starred Selection, 2020Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre, 2020Commended, OLA Best Bets, 2019“The story is fast paced, with dramatic, emotion-filled scenes. Meet Viola Desmond should be in libraries across Canada.” — (Meet Viola Desmond) CM Magazine“...Illustrating Viola Desmond's story this way will draw readers in and hold their attention while telling an important story ...” — CanLit for Little Canadians
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