Canadian Girls Who Rocked the World, written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi. Whitecap, 2010. $12.95 ages 8 and up

"Avril Lavigne didn't listen to a wide variety
of music while she was growing up. In her
small town of Napanee, Ontario, there weren't
any rock concerts to see. She didn't know the
history of the punk movement or the details
of the music industry. But she stood on her bed,
she pretended it was a stage. She sang to an
imaginary audience of screaming, cheering fans,
and she knew she wanted to be a star."

This was a Christmas gift from my soon-to-be son-in-law, Drew. What a lovely surprise! I like to think he gifted it to me because he thinks that I 'rock'! We'll
pretend that is so.

I like sharing books that honor young Canadian women who have made, are making and will continue to make a name for themselves. The book is divided into five sections, describing women who have excelled in sports, the frontier, arts, science and doing their own thing. In the introduction Tanya Lloyd Ki says that the pages: "...include a skier, a doctor, a journalist, a pop star and a judge. They came from all parts the country and spent their lives pursuing very different dreams. They had only one thing in common - they loved adventure. When a new discovery or a new chance beckoned, they were ready."

Many had to work very hard to achieve the dreams that they had for themselves. But, they persevered and they did what they had to do to 'rock' our world. The author gives clear and helpful advice to those adventurers who read this book, and want to make a difference.

In each of the three-page entries, the text provides a snapshot of the featured girl's life and path to celebrity. Additional information is included in text boxes with such headings as 'fast fact', 'how will you rock the world?',  and 'girls around the world'.  She has done her homework and revised and expanded an earlier version of this book, giving it an immediacy for the young women of today.

Many names are familiar...Cassie Campbell, Silken Laumann, Madeline de Vercheres, Eunice Williams, Dorothy Livesay, Emily Carr. Many were new to me and I found myself very interested, and proud, in reading of their accomplishments.

As with books of this type, they often lead intrigued readers to find out more about the people mentioned. I hope that happens again!