Eva Chen

A Is for Awesome! is a children’s picture book in Eva Chen’s Awesome! series of educational stories that feature inspiring women. Juno Valentine, a character from another book series by the same author, makes a brief appearance at the beginning as well. Parents can teach children their ABCs while also helping them learn about twenty-three famous women who helped change the world around them. There are lots of iconic women featured within this book’s pages, such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Oprah, Malala, and many more. Each page gives a brief explanation of who that person is/was and their contributions to the world, and most pages also feature a brief quote from the person.

This is a book I’d been very eager to read. As a relatively new grandparent with a young granddaughter who’s very spirited, I’m always looking for books with strong female role models to share with her and this one definitely fits the bill. It features an interesting and diverse group of women from all walks of life that should be inspiring to girls of all ages and backgrounds. Then it’s capped off with a mirror page, celebrating the child who’s reading it and all the adventures they might have in the future. The text is accompanied by fun cartoon renderings of the women discussed that should delight little readers. Right now, the print version of the book appears to only be available as a board book, which typically means that it’s aimed at the littlest readers. It’s certainly appropriate for infants and preschoolers, but I think that even early elementary age kids could glean something from its pages. There were a few of the women that I didn’t even know, and since the book only gives the barest amount of information about each one, it could create a jumping off point for older readers to further research or read about any of the women that catch their interest. I highly recommend the book for parents who are looking for empowering learning books for their little ones.… (mehr)