Rad Girl Revolution, an upcoming children's book that empowers young girls and encourages gender equal mindsets in young boys, recently launched a $15,000 Kickstarter campaign.Created by two Forest Hills moms, “Rad Girl Revolution” fills a gap in the girl empowerment book market.
“We love reading inspiring books such as “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls”, “She Persisted”, and “Little Leaders” to our children, but we saw a void we needed to serve. As a mother of two girls, I believe it is very important to teach my children about the incredible women of the past, but also feel it’s essential for young girls to be able to picture themselves becoming the inspiring women of the future!” said Sharita Manickam, author of Rad Girl Revolution. “We also wanted our book to be primarily for a younger audience. Gender stereotypes are set in children as early as age 6, so it is crucial to expose them to empowering books and reach them during the critical developmental ages of 3-7 years old.”
RAD stands for Rise Above Doubt and Reach Any Dream. The book will feature 30 inspiring storybook-style photos of real little girls in fields typically under-represented by women, along with a rhyming verse describing each career. The book showcases occupations including Scientist, Judge, Artist, Astronaut, Doctor, Pilot, Journalist, Director, Chef, Author, CEO, Engineer, Paleontologist, and President.
“We felt it was important to use photographs for our project. We are showing young girls career opportunities they may not otherwise know exist, and we believe photos of real girls help further drive home the reality. We don't want our message getting muddled in the fantasy of typical picture book illustrations,” explained Jen Bruno, photo-illustrator for “Rad Girl Revolution”. “We also made it a point to cast diverse models as we want every little girl who picks up our book to see themselves represented in the pages.”
Two-year old Frankie, who has Down syndrome, posed as an artist at a photoshoot done at Little Pulp, a collaborative art and printmaking workshop for kids located in Glendale. "This project gives us a platform to show a child with a disability in a viable profession and will hopefully challenge the preconceptions of its readers and make them say "Why not?'" said Frankie’s mother, Farah Lyner.
Four-year old Sofia posed as a chef at Tuscan Hills, a popular Italian restaurant in Forest Hills co-owned by her father. “When I grow up, I want to be a chef like my daddy” Sofia declared. “We are very happy that Sofia had the opportunity to participate in a project like this that encourages girls to dream big,” said her mother Juliana Ramirez.
The 30-day Kickstarter runs through May 5, 2018. Funds raised will be used to finish the remaining photoshoots and print and ship the first 1,000 copies of “Rad Girl Revolution”.
“We are encouraged by the increased momentum toward gender equality, and feel that putting these images and rhymes in front of today’s youth can help better level the playing field from the start,” stated Manickam.
The book and additional rewards can be pre-ordered now on Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.
