Meet Elsie Macgill

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!

The story of Canadian Elsie MacGill, the first woman to earn a master's degree in aeronautical engineering.

Elsie MacGill achieved many firsts in science and engineering at a time when women were considered to be inferior in the sciences. In 1923, at the age of nineteen, she became the first woman to attend engineering classes at the University of Toronto. She was the first woman in North America to hold a degree in aeronautical engineering and the first woman aircraft designer in the world. As chief engineer for the Canadian Car and Foundry Company she oversaw the production of the Hawker Hurricane, and designed a series of modifications to equip the plain for cold weather flying. Her Maple Leaf trainer may still be the only plane ever to be completely designed by a woman. And she did all this while suffering from polio. In this biography we learn that she supervised 4500 workers and produced about 1450 Hawker Hurricanes by the end of WWII. Elsie was a popular heroine of her time, inspiring the comic book "Queen of the Hurricanes" in the 1940s. In later life she became a powerful feminist activist, advocating for the rights of women and children.

"Elsie MacGill, the world's first female aeronautical engineer and professional aircraft designer, influenced early bush planes and guided production of famous aircraft in World War II. 'Elsie the engineer' was also the driving force on Canada's Royal Commission on the Status of Women and every inch the daughter of the suffragette judge Helen MacGill. Affected by muscle paralysis at 24, Elsie often struggled to walk as she pursued her amazing career."--Provided by publisher.

The S.S.M.P. goes up against their STINKIEST monster yet! Pick a book. Grow a Reader!This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!Everything stinks! Alexander, Rip, and Nikki aren't in the same class anymore. The monster notebook is missing. And a HONKing monster is sliming Stermont! Plus, actual smelly stuff is going missing all over town. Could all of these stinky things be connected? The S.S.M.P. will have to sniff out their latest monster!

Meet all kinds of puppies in this sweet illustrated series perfect for newly independent readers! Kat and her friends are eager to help when Aunt Jenn asks them to train a special puppy, 4-month-old Bernese mountain dog Piper, for her first puppy show. They only need to work on a few simple commands, but the girls soon find out that training a puppy is not as easy as it seems . . . Can Kat, Maya, and Grace get Piper ready for her first puppy show in time?

Meet Viola Desmond, community leader and early civil rights trailblazer! On the night of November 8th 1946, Nova Scotia businesswoman Viola Desmond stood up for her right to be in the "unofficial" whites-only section of a New Glasgow movie theatre . . . and was arrested for it. Supported by the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NSCAACP) and the black-owned newspaper The Clarion, Viola took her quest for the right to freedom from discrimination to the courts. While she ultimately did not succeed, she was a beacon to other early civil-rights activists. Her sister Wanda worked hard to promote Viola's legacy, which has been finally honoured by Viola's inclusion on the new Canadian $10 bill. This new picture book biography series features simple text and full-colour, comic-flavoured illustration with speech balloons that help bring the story alive. Historical photos and a timeline support the narrative.

"Meet Thérèse Casgrain, who battled for equality and social justice, and was the first woman to lead a political party in Canada! From 1916 to 1925, women across Canada were winning the right to vote, province by province... but not in Quebec. It took another fifteen years of protest and the leadership of Thérèse Casgrain for women there to get the right to vote in provincial elections. And that was only the start of Thérèse's 50-year career. She decided to change things from inside the government too, becoming the first woman to lead a political party in Canada. And although Therese may not have been elected, her decades long fight for equal rights, health care, and world peace is itself a victory."--