Kickstarter Archives - Eva Varga


December 9, 20163

Today I divert from my usual content to share with you a book series that I am very excited about. Though my children are no longer the target age, I love the mission of Queen Girls – to inspire girls to follow their dreams and envision them as possible and I look forward to sharing the books with my nieces and nephews. I also love that the stories are based on real women – short biographies that highlight the struggles and successes of women the world over.

Often times, classic stories highlight the strength, courage and skills of men while female characters are often stereotyped or one-dimensionall: the mother figure, the homemaker, the exotic beauty, the love seeker.

Did you know that 57% of children’s books have male protagonists, while only 31% are female? 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.

Queen Girls Kickstarter

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.

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!

How to get involved?

They are running a Kickstarter campaign to collect necessary funds to print the first book! Queen Girls is hoping to reach like-minded people who can help them ‘kick’ their crowdfunding campaign! If you believe in their mission and want to be part of the movement, donate and receive one of the first limited copies here!

bessie-and-bloony-flying

This multicultural team 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 intention is to open this collection to fellow authors and illustrators that could potentially bring their own Queens on board.

Books

Available in English & Spanish
Recommended age – 4 to 7 y.o.
32 page, hardcover & digital

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!

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.”

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.

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.

If this sounds appealing to you, please pledge to make it happen here!

#queeengirls #childrensbooks #booksforgirls
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February 28, 2015

I was provided an opportunity to preview this product in advance to give an honest review of these products and services. All opinions expressed are true and completely our own. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

piper4

I can not express how excited I am to discover Piper! It is an amazing little hacker toolbox based on a Raspberry Pi that shows you how to build electronics by playing Minecraft.

I have been wanting to purchase a Raspberry Pi for a long time but just haven’t found the right way to grasp my kids’ attention. Until now!

My kids LOVE Minecraft!! Especially my son who, if permitted, will spend his entire day building elaborate cities and mini-games for his own server.

Over the past few years, I have shared with him a variety of tutorials and computer programming programs to encourage him to take his love for the game farther. Nothing has really stuck until we tried Piper earlier this week.

piper3Learn With Piper

The creators behind Piper have created a system that will empower children to build electronics, gadgets and sensors – including a responsive flashlight, an ambient light detector and a sound and light keyboard – all by playing Minecraft.

Play Minecraft. Build Electronics. 

They have been able to modify Minecraft on the Raspberry Pi to detect whether circuits are built correctly, and have structured the software to guide students through the basics until they reach more complex levels. Kids will enjoy playing Minecraft in a new way and parents will love the simplicity!

To see Piper in action, watch this tutorial on Vimeo.

“We created Piper to bring back the tinkering and building that inspired so many generations of inventors and creators throughout history. We want to give kids a way to start their journey into making and engineering, and we want it to be fun.” ~ Mark Pavlyukovskyy

piper2

My kids and I had so much fun playing with Piper that we didn’t want to leave. The Minecraft interface captivated their attention – allowing them the freedom to be creative – all the while teaching them how to add different electrical components.

Both of the kids wanted to tinker with the gadgets and they each remarked on the cool lazer cut “hacker toolbox” that houses the Raspberry Pi and other components. Lazer etchings were subtle and the box can be personalized to further express a child’s creativity.

As we walked out the door, my son exclaimed, “That was awesome! Piper is so fun!”

Piper is planning to launch its hacker toolbox early next week. Sign up today to find out how you can get Piper at a discounted rate of $149!

You can also enter to win your own personalized Piper kit. As a special perk your name will be printed on the front of the box!

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