An inspiring biographical collection celebrating the adventurousness and ingenuity of girls and women around the world. Now more than ever, the world is recognizing how strong women and girls are. How strong? In the early 1920s, Inuit expeditioner Ada Blackjack survived for two years as a castaway on an uninhabited island in the Arctic Ocean before she was finally rescued. And she’s just one example. The Girl Who Rode a Shark: And Other Stories of Daring Women is a rousing collection of biographies focused on women and girls who have written, explored, or otherwise plunged headfirst into the pages of history. Undaunted by expectations, they made their mark by persevering in pursuit of their passions. The tales come from a huge variety of times and places, from a Canadian astronaut to an Indian secret agent to a Balkan pirate queen who stood up to Ancient Rome. Author and activist Ailsa Ross gives readers a fun, informative piece of nonfiction that emphasizes the boundless potential of a new generation of women. Praise for The Girl Who Rode a Shark: And Other Stories of Daring Women 2020 USBBY Outstanding International Books List selection 2020 CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens Spring selection 2019 CBC Books "12 books for kids and young adults to read this fall" selection ★ STARRED REVIEW "Brief biographies of 52 intrepid women, spanning the globe and all centuries, are flanked by large, full-color illustrations and by maps that show the women's adventuring sites....The artwork, reminiscent of art deco travel posters, is a gorgeous complement to the eclectic curation....An exciting labor of love―for kids of all gender identities."―Kirkus Starred Review “The subjects are fascinating, and the women come from a variety of time periods, geographic regions, socioeconomic backgrounds, and ethnicities and include women with disabilities. Yet they all shared common characteristics: the need for adventure and a desire to learn. The book also contains portraits of the women, a glossary, and information about Indigenous peoples and the world’s ever-changing political boundaries. VERDICT This colorful, delightful book is highly recommended for all history and women’s history collections.”―School Library Journal "Brightly colored digital-media portraits face each page of text, and double-page maps pinpoint each subject's country of origin. Truly international in scope and ranging across centuries...this attractive collection should spark inquiry for further research."―Booklist “The title of this new nonfiction text is enough to catch any readers’ attention, but this is only one of many qualities of this book that will keep readers engaged....The diversity of the women featured allow readers of all backgrounds to find a little bit of themselves in these stories....The colors, cultural aspects, maps, and quotes in the illustrations amplify Ross’ exquisite writing. This would be a strong addition to any middle grade or middle school collection.”―School Library Connection “A really fascinating and fantastic book that travels both the globe and history....Something that I really like about the book too, is after we learn about someone, there are two other women mentioned that have done the same thing...By doing this, if a particular story hooks in the reader there is now more people to check out for further research! I really love books that can have this kind of knowledge extension, and taking a global approach to this with a heavy dose of social justice makes for an excellent book to spend an afternoon reading.”―The Tiny Activist "Ailsa Ross' The Girl Who Rode a Shark & Other Stories of Daring Women is a comprehensive work of middle grade nonfiction....[A] useful resource for school-aged studies on topics such as women's rights, female historical figures or biographies. The book is diverse both culturally and geographically, and the easy to navigate layout and bright engaging illustrations will quickly draw readers in....Highly Recommended."―CM Magazine “This one-of-a-kind celebration of fierce and fearless female adventurers…Written in age-appropriate text chock-full of fascinating facts and figures…this spirited collection of stories is a must for every classroom and home library, fillings its readers with a palpable sense of wonder, inspiring them to aim high, dream big and blaze new trials, carving their own indelible mark on history.”―Canadian Children’s Book News "Rating: G...The biographies are short but give a good idea of what these women did to make them outstanding in their place and time. They could lead to further research by students who have a particular interest in some of the women highlighted."―Resource Links “Many of the subjects are not well-known and represent a diversity of cultures....Each chapter begins with a double-page map showing where the women in that category achieved their accomplishments. The collective biography would be useful for browsing or preparing reports.”―Oregon Coast Youth Bo