National Network for Equitable Library Service

The Discovering Canada series presents information, stories and activities to make Canadian history interesting to young people. Each of the eleven illustrated books focuses on a theme in Canadian history and includes primary source quotes, biographical details, vocabulary, activities and games. The American Revolution frequently turned neighbour against neighbour, brother against brother, and father against son. By the end of the conflict, more than seventy thousand former residents of the Thirteen Colonies left or lost their homes. Most headed north to the Canadian wilderness.

Into the Hurricane invites Canadians to consider how their political opinions and options are manipulated today by considering how they were manipulated yesterday. As Canadians fight for the future of health care, public education, and social programs that have become woven into the fabric of our political culture, when CCF leader Tommy Douglas is lauded as the Greatest Canadian, Into the Hurricane asks Canadians to consider the hurricane that destroyed the party that was attempting to bring forward the ideas that so many now consider our birthright.

A Tale of Two Divas tells the story of two Canadian singers who began as soloists in church choirs, but eventually moved on to spectacular careers. Soprano Jean Forsyth and contralto Edith Miller knew each other well. They met when nineteen-year-old Edith studied vocal music with Jean, almost twenty-five years her senior, in Winnipeg in 1894. After that their paths crisscrossed. This tale of two voices contrasts the ways in which Jean and Edith achieved success. Edith Miller's path was clear and committed.

In 1904, Assiniboine Park was conceived as a peoples playground, a place devoid of commercial amusements where all classes of Winnipeggers could relax andrejuvenate in idyllic and Arcadian surroundings. The book traces the development of the park and its infrastructure the layout of fields, forests and gardens, the two pavilions, the conservatories and the zoo and how this corresponded with an ever-evolving Winnipeg. It explains the actions, conflicts and arguments of a colourful cast of politicians and bureaucrats who made the park what it is today.

Before the internet, before TV, Manitoba was a hotbed for innovation in radio. These innovations range from the first publically-owned radio station to the first play-by-play broadcast of women's hockey. During World War II, a Winnipeg broadcaster was as well-known in England as Churchill. And Neil Young's very first recording was done at a local station. These are but a few of the stories of early radio in Manitoba. In its first half century, the medium was a powerful, revolutionary force that touched and linked virtually everyone in the province.

Charlotte Ross (1843-1916) belonged to the first generation of women to practice medicine in Canada and was Manitoba’s first qualified woman doctor.

Told by Paul Moss (1911-1995), a highly respected storyteller and ceremonial leader, these twelve texts introduce us to an immensely rich literature. As works of an oral tradition, they had until now remained beyond the reach of those who do not speak the Arapaho language.

In May 1919, 30,000 Winnipeg workers walked away from their jobs, shutting down large factories, forcing businesses to close and bringing major industries to a halt. Mounted police and hired security, at the behest of the ruling class, violently ended the protest after six weeks. Two men were killed. What started as trade union revolt, the Winnipeg General Strike became a mass protest and was branded as a revolution. In Magnificent Fight, Dennis Lewycky lays out the history of this iconic event, which remains the biggest and longest strike in Canadian history.

Local history buffs, students, teachers, and armchair historians will find a wealth of information and practical advice in this guide to the study of local history. The authors explore some of the most fruitful areas of research in such themes as the environment, population, transportation and communication, agriculture, politics, social and family life. In five appendices they provide more detailed information for the determined researcher. Specific advice is given on compiling a community archive or data base, and on publishing a local history.

A biography of Dr. Elinor Black (1905-1982), the first Canadian woman to gain membership in the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in London.