The Man in Motion

The Man in Motion

How Rick Hansen’s World Tour helped break down barriers for people with disabilities.

Upcoming Release Date: October 7, 2026  

The inspiring story of Canadian hero Rick Hansen, who wheeled around the world to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities.

In 1973, at the age of 15, Rick Hansen was in a life-changing car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Twelve years later, motivated by the challenges he faced, Rick embarked on the two-year-long Man In Motion World Tour, wheeling 40,075 kilometers through 34 countries on four continents.
Despite the many obstacles Rick encountered during the Tour, he never gave up on his dream: to raise awareness about the enormous potential of people with disabilities. His tour raised $26 million to help with the creation of an accessible and inclusive world.

Written in consultation with Rick Hansen and dynamically illustrated, this biographical picture book invites readers to join Rick through the ups and downs of the Man In Motion World Tour and shows the power of perseverance and dedication.

Published by Owlkids
Illustrated by Emma FitzGerald

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“Nicholson’s accessible prose draws readers into the man’s physical and emotional challenges, while Hansen’s own words in the back matter offer a personal call to action. The friendly artwork, varying from intimate single-page vignettes to expansive spreads, offers readers a sense of both the scale of the journey and the determination required. The addition of fun facts, maps, and back matter strengthens the text’s usefulness in classrooms and libraries.

VERDICT An inspiring and energetic account of one man’s record-breaking journey around the world in a wheelchair, this is an uplifting and visually engaging biography of resilience and advocacy and a strong choice for classrooms and collections featuring changemakers and social justice role models.”

Susie Rios

School Library Journal, Early Review

Reviews

CM Magazine - May 2018

“One of the strengths of “A Time to Run” is the voice. The perspective changes back and forth from Stuart to Sam, and the individual characters speak in very specific, distinct voices. Stuart’s is especially interesting; short, choppy sentences reflect his impulsive nature and give him a childish quality, despite his age of fourteen. Longer, rambling sentences let readers into his jumbled thoughts. The changeover to Sam’s perspective in alternating chapters is smooth but distinct. His chapters show more reflection and successfully display the inner thoughts of a teenage boy who is in the middle of a huge life upheaval.

Everything in the story is believable; the clear and linear plot allows the focus to remain on the characters, and that’s where the real value is in this novel. Nicholson’s characters are familiar and relatable, but rarely stereotypical. Sam’s love interest is an athletic and level-headed girl, and his interest in her isn’t connected to her beauty—in fact, his first description of her describes her as “sweaty”. It’s refreshing to see one fictional character notice another based on personality traits as opposed to appearance.”

Kirkus Reviews - July 2018

“The latest in the author’s One-2-One series (inspired by a real program that matches students with intellectual disabilities with their neurotypical peers), the story of Stuart and Sam’s friendship is sweetly and sensitively told. Both characters are white; Stuart’s adoptive family is black, while Sam’s family immigrated from Bosnia. The book’s best scenes feature the friends together as Stuart strives to make the track-and-field team, and the relationship between the boys is presented authentically.”