From a true-life “Survivor Island” tale to the women who flew fighters and bombers for the Allies in World War II, Ed Butts invites you to meet twelve women who dared to live their lives on a tightrope. She Dared takes the reader to the Far North, where a single Native woman put an end to a ruinous war. There’s Molly Brant, who stepped out of the shadow of her famous brother Joseph to make her own mark, and Dr. “James Barry,” a prominent army physician whose true identity remained a secret until the day “he” died. These are the stories of women who took up challenges that society felt could be met only by men: Mina Hubbard’s incredible journey across Labrador; Martha Black’s adventures in the Yukon; Sara Emma Edmonds’s perilous missions as a Yankee spy in the Civil War. While some of these women achieved legitimate fame, others gained notoriety. Pearl Hart became a Wild West desperado. Cassie Chadwick fleeced bankers for a fortune in one of the most brazen con games ever played. Famous or infamous, the women in Ed Butt’s fascinating book are sure to intrigue readers. Grade 6-10–An interesting, informative collection that details the lives of some of Canada's most famous and infamous women. The stories showcase explorers, spies, criminals, and pioneers in a variety of career fields. Organized chronologically from the 16th to the mid-20th century, this 12-chapter offering is historically sound and well researched. It provides an objective view of many facets of the Canadian past, such as the treatment of women and natives, although some readers may lack the background to understand some of the historical references. Each chapter opens with a full-page pencil portrait. While the writing is easy to read, it suffers from a rather formulaic delivery. Nevertheless, given the subject matter, the book is certainly worth a look. –Robyn Walker, Elgin Court Public School, St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Gr. 6-9. From Marguerite de la Roque de Roberval, a sixteenth-century aristocrat who dared to love a lowly commoner, to four women who flew military planes for the Air Transport Authority during World War II, these accounts introduce 15 women who ventured into behavior considered inappropriate for women in their time. All of their experiences were remarkable, even those of the three criminals. For instance, Marguerite, whose story opens the book, was thrown off her uncle's ship when her indiscretion was discovered. Eventually, she buried her lover and her baby on the unpopulated island where she was cast away and lived alone until she was rescued some months later. Written in an engaging, conversational style, the entries are well organized and informative. Chapters vary in length, with a penciled portrait accompanying each. A list of titles for further reading is appended, but no sources are cited, nor is there an index. Most of these women, who were tied to Canada at some point in their lives, will be unfamiliar to U.S. students, so this will be especially valuable in libraries supporting women's history studies and in larger library collections. Linda Perkins Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved From a true-life "Survivor Island" tale to the women who flew fighters and bombers for the Allies in World War II, Ed Butts invites you to meet twelve women who dared to live their lives on a tightrope. "She Dared takes the reader to the Far North, where a single Native woman put an end to a ruinous war. There's Molly Brant, who stepped out of the shadow of her famous brother Joseph to make her own mark, and Dr. "James Barry," a prominent army physician whose true identity remained a secret until the day "he" died. These are the stories of women who took up challenges that society felt could be met only by men: Mina Hubbard's incredible journey across Labrador; Martha Black's adventures in the Yukon; Sara Emma Edmonds's perilous missions as a Yankee spy in the Civil War. While some of these women achieved legitimate fame, others gained notoriety. Pearl Hart became a Wild West desperado. Cassie Chadwick fleeced bankers for a fortune in one of the most brazen con games ever played. Famous or infamous, the women in Ed Butt's fascinating book are sure to intrigue readers. Ed Butts is a writer and editor with a special interest in Canadian history. He lived for several years in the Dominican Republic, where he taught English and social studies and wrote regularly for local magazines. He has published several books of fiction and non-fiction and has written for numerous publications in Canada and the United States. Ed Butts lives in Guelph, Ontario. Heather Collins has been drawing since she was very young. She has illustrated over forty children’s books over the past twenty years. She is the recipient of the 1995 Information Book Award and the 1995 Ruth Schwartz Children’s Book Award (Picture Book Cat