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Hey YA Readers!
Earlier this month, I highlighted a handful of stand-alone YA biographies of rad women through history. Today, let’s look at some collective biographies that recently hit shelves or will in the near future.
What’s a collective biography, you ask? It’s a book made up of multiple short biographies. They tend to be thematic, meaning that you’ll see a book of collective biographies of female politicians or athletes, etc. These are such a wonderful way to learn about a lot of people in a short time and can easily lead down some deep rabbit holes — I always love how these books lead me to more stand alone biographies and put really fabulous people on my radar.
The below titles include a range of unifying themes, as well as women and girls of historical and contemporary significance.
Let’s dig in!
Girlhood: Teens Around The World In Their Own Voices by Masuma Ahuja
Of the books on this list, Ahuja’s might be the most contemporary in terms of who is highlighted — these are teen girls of today living “ordinary” lives around the world. It’s such a neat collection of experiences, wherein the teen girls were asked to journal about their day-to-day lives, and despite how many corners of the world they came from, there were so many connecting themes throughout. It’s a gorgeous book to boot!
Girls Who Run The World: 31 CEOS Who Mean Business by Diana Kapp and illustrated by Bijou Karman
This book is a couple of years old, so some of the leaders highlighted may no longer be in the positions they were when it initially published, but what a treasure trove! Looking for inspiration when it comes to being a CEO of a big or small business? Kapp’s collection offers female-identifying leaders from makeup brands to startups to technology and more. Each entry offers what the individual does, but also grounds their lives in the sorts of things teens want to know — what are their bucket list dreams? What was their high school GPA? Paired with lovely illustrations by Karman, this is a fun one to peruse.
Native Women Changing Their Worlds by Patricia Cutright (April 27)
From historical to contemporary change makers, Cutright’s book is the ninth in a series of books that highlight Native and First Nations people. This collection showcases 12 women from a wide range of tribes and affiliations who’ve gone from any number of challenging backgrounds to become politicians, activists, educators, scientists, and more.
She Represents: 44 Women Who Are Changing Politics . . . and The World by Caitlin Donohue
A highly designed and readable collection of women in the United States and across the world who are political leaders, as well as community activists, grassroots change makers, and more. In addition to the women profiled, there are several more lists throughout the collection offering pathways into learning about other women rocking it in political change.
Thrill Seekers: 15 Remarkable Women in Extreme Sports by Ann McCallum Staats
The first book in a forthcoming series of collective biographies, this collection features 15 women involved in extreme sports. Among the athletes included are those involved in cliff diving, Formula 1 racing, wingsuit flying, and more. The women are international, diverse, and, of course, show the highs, lows, challenges, and wins that come along with extreme sports.
Women Discoverers: Top Women in Science by Marie Moinard, illustrated by Christelle Pecout
An outstanding STEM read, this comic collective biography is all about rad women in science, past and present. Space, chemistry, computing, telecommunications, and more are among the fields these women have excelled. Global in scope, some of the women will be familiar to readers, while others will be new discoveries.
Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you later this week. If you haven’t heard yet, this week is my last week for Book Riot before taking maternity leave. You’ll be left in the capable hands of Tirzah for the newsletter until I’m back in July — and trust me when I say I plan on using this time to read awesome YA *and* board books with my new baby girl (I can’t wait until I get to introduce her to the women in the books above!).
— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of Body Talk, (Don’t) Call Me Crazy, and Here We Are.
Giant thanks to Quarto Press and the (badass!) This Book Is Anti-Racist Journal for making today’s newsletter possible.
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