Queen Girls
Stories of real women turned into fairy tales. Inspiring girls to follow their dreams!
Queens are the New Princesses!
The multicultural team behind Queen Girls is formed by Jimena Durán (Spain), Andrea Doshi (USA) and Chiara Fabbri (Italy). They bring their diverse experiences to this initiative along with tons of love and dedication.
Their mission is to inspire girls to follow their dreams and envision them as possible. This is the reason why the Queen Girl’s fairy tales are based on stories of real women stories.
They also believe in giving back to the community and this is why they stand on a One for One model. Every time you purchase a book, another will be donated to local and international organizations who are fighting illiteracy and empowering girls.
About the First Book in the
Queen Girls Collection
The first fairy tale is ‘Bessie, Queen of the Sky’ inspired by the story of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to hold a pilot’s license. The book will be available in English and Spanish.
‘When Bessie was growing up, no one could have imagined that a girl from a humble family would get out of the cotton fields and become a pilot. But with the help of her best friend Bloony, Bessie uses her courage and determination to make her dream come true!’
● Available in English & Spanish
● Recommended age - 4 to 7 years
● 32 pages, hardcover & digital
A peek inside...
MY REVIEW
Bessie, Queen of the Sky is a beautifully illustrated picture book that brings to life the true story of a girl who had the courage to follow her dreams no matter what roadblocks she faced along the way. This book teaches that a person's gender, skin color, or social position does not equate with ability. As long as you are willing to work hard and persevere, you can be just as good or better than anyone else.
In an ideal world, all people ought to have equal opportunities. Unfortunately, our daughters are not growing up in an ideal world, but things are changing. My own daughters do not feel the same restrictions that I felt growing up and I believe this has a lot to do with the brave women who went before us. We can be thankful for girls and women like Bessie who have trail blazed ahead, making it easier for us to follow in their steps.
When I got to the end of the story, my 8-year old daughter, Amanda, was impressed to see the photograph of Bessie and to learn that it was based on a true story. For me, this has been one of my favorite picture books that I did with her this year. It was truly inspirational. I highly recommend it for girls ages 4 to 8.
MISSION
One for One - Every time you purchase a book, another will be donated to a child who may be struggling to dream. To reach as many kids as possible and distribute donated books, Queen Girls is partnering with local and international organizations who are fighting illiteracy and empowering girls. The stories are based on real women to give girls a positive view of life and help them envision their dreams as possible.
‘Often times, classic stories highlight the strength, courage and skills of men. Female characters are often stereotyped or one-dimensional: the mother figure, the homemaker, the exotic beauty, the love seeker. We believe that we should be telling different stories to our children. Let’s encourage girls to find their happiness, passions, drive and self-confidence from within. At the same time, let’s help boys to move to a place of equality’
TEAM
● Jimena conceptualized and co founded Queen Girls inspired by her son Luca! Her previous experience in the startup world helped her to led content strategy and social concept development. She was also part of the book creating process and changed tons of diapers at the same time!
● Andrea co created Queen Girls, alongside her sister in law. Working with kids as a speech therapist combined with her experiences traveling has fueled the inspiration for this project, teaching her first hand that girls from all around the world are struggling to dream. Andrea loves flying just as much as Queen Bessie!
● Chiara brings her incredible power of imaginations to this project. She brought Bessie back to life with beautiful color and eclectic scenes. She is a young Italian on the quest for the true essence of all around her.
BOOKS
COLLECTION SUMMARY
‘Queens are the new princesses!’
1) “Bessie, Queen of the Sky!” Inspired by the story of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to hold a pilot’s license in the world - When Bessie was growing up, no one could have imagined that a girl from a humble family would get out of the cotton fields and become a pilot. But with the help of her best friend Bloony, Bessie uses her courage and determination to make her dream come true!
2) “Isadora, the Rebel Queen!” Inspired by the story of Isadora Duncan, a ballerina who danced away from rigid ballet technique towards what she perceived as natural movement. Influenced by the sea, she started dancing like no one ever did before, imitating the waves of the sea with her arms and feet - She defied conventionalist minds by creating what today we refer to as Modern Dance or “Barefoot Style.”
3) “Savi, Queen of Education!” Inspired by the story of Savitribhai Phule, a woman poet, an educationalist and a social reformer, Savi was one of the earliest crusaders of education for girls in India. She defied all odds to become the first female teacher at the first women’s school founded by her and her family.
4) And more books to come! We have the firm intention to grow this collection and open it up to fellow authors and illustrators that could potentially bring their own queens on board.
Disclosure: I received a free digital copy of this book for my honest review.
