About
STEM Girls Books: Picture Books Inspired by Women in STEM
$7,799
132
UPDATE: Thank you! We reached our goal and our first three books are funded. Now we're working on our stretch goal: if we can hit the $9,000 mark, we can complete a fourth book in our series. You can help us by sharing our campaign! (Read more about our stretch goal in the 'updates' tab.)
It’s often the teen or preteen years when girls get their first exposure to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and begin to see the exciting possibilities. We think that’s too late, especially considering the research that tells us young girls may already begin doubting their own intelligence by the age of six!
By supporting our campaign, you're going to help us change that. STEM Girls Books are picture books designed to plant the seeds of possibilities EARLY – starting with the preschool years – long before stereotypes and self doubt begin to set in. As little girls dream of being a dancer, princess, teacher or doctor, we also want to open their minds to additional possibilities like engineer, scientist or computer programmer.
STEM Girls Books are inspired by real women in STEM who are sharing their stories and helping us learn about traits that children possess that may indicate early interest and aptitude in STEM. We then use this knowledge to develop the spunky characters in our stories – curious girls who set out to find answers or solve problems.
Each book explores a specific STEM field. At the end of every story, young readers will meet a role model - a real woman in STEM working in that field who shares encouragement, advice and insight into her exciting career.
We already have three finalized stories going through illustration and are turning to the awesome Kickstarter community to help us complete these books and get them into the hands of little girls everywhere. With your support, the first three books in our series will be ready by the end of summer!
The video below - set to our catchy theme song - describes everything we strive to accomplish in our books.
Who are we? We're a team that knows how to get things done! Within ten days of the original idea for STEM Girls Books, the website was launched, the first ten interviews were conducted, and the first four stories were written. Within seven months of that first idea, three books will be published.
Author and founder: Kristi Grigsby is an award-winning marketer and writer with 20+ years of experience in the corporate world. The STEM Girls Books series will be her first children's books published (with a dozen more stories written and waiting for their turn).
Illustrators:
- Sara Lynn Kuba, illustrating Sophie and the Airplane - a book on aerospace
- Brian Maikisch, illustrating Zelda the Curious - a book on engineering
- Kayla Irizarry, illustrating Chelsea Discovers Chemistry - a book on...you guessed it...chemistry
Sara and Kayla are currently illustration students. Brian is currently using his artistic talents in the corporate world. ALL have dreamed of this moment and are hungry to make their mark in the world of children's books. Support our campaign and you'll also be supporting the start of what is sure to be amazing futures.
Creative intern: Dayna Grigsby is lending her creative talents to the completion and promotion of this campaign, including photography, videography and social media. She started her first Etsy store long before adulthood and dreams of her future tech startup. We're thankful for the impact she is making on STEM Girls Books before she heads off to college.
We've got a good start but we need your help. Your support is helping us to get our first THREE books published by the end of summer, 2017!
- 8x10 paperback and digital formats
- 32 beautifully illustrated pages in full color; bonus pages with STEM overview, career possibilities, and interview with a role model.
- Inspirational role models featured at the end of every story - a real woman in STEM who shares her story, encouragement and insight into her exciting career.
- Books will be self-published on Amazon - we feel this is the quickest, most cost effective way to get the STEM Girls Books into the hands of little girls everywhere. The print-on-demand model eliminates the cost of carrying inventory and upfront printing costs. We will continue exploring additional distribution networks, along with the possibility of introducing a hardcover option.
- First three books available by end of summer - with successful funding of this campaign, our first three books (summarized below) are on schedule to be completed, published and available for purchase on Amazon by the end of summer 2017.
Here's a peek at the first three books currently in illustration:
- Aerospace - Sophie's a dreamer who loves airplanes and doesn't take no for an answer. Readers will adore her spunk and share in her world of wonder and excitement in Sophie and the Airplane.
- Engineering - Zelda is always curious, questioning and exploring. In Zelda the Curious, this precocious, lovable character will have readers eager to know what Zelda will think of next.
- Chemistry - Chelsea goes on a problem solving adventure in Chelsea Discovers Chemistry. Along the way she teaches girls that, from baking to playing with makeup, it's all about chemistry.
Remember, folks, this campaign is all or nothing! We believe in the power of our stories to influence the next generation of STEM dreamers and hope you will join us on this journey. Quite simply – we can’t do it without you!
Our campaign is not about a single book. Our supporters are going to enable us to get THREE BOOKS published – the first three books in our series.
We have covered a lot of the upfront costs to produce these books and are seeking backers on Kickstarter to help us with the remaining $3,500 budget, which includes:
- Remaining illustration fees
- ISBNs and barcodes for the three books
- Copyright registrations
- Website and promotion expenses (we are able to keep these costs to a minimum since our founder/author has a marketing background)
- Costs of fulfilling shipped rewards to backers
- Kickstarter and payment processing fees
When we EXCEED our goal
When we exceed our goal (Yay! Positive vibes here!), there is no limit to the number of books we can publish in this series. With additional funding for illustrations and fees, we have more fun stories ready to go on topics including technology, biology, space adventures, and civil engineering, just to name a few. So please keep sharing our campaign.
With the help of our awesome backers on Kickstarter, there is unlimited potential to ignite interest in STEM among the next generation of girls!
As we developed this business model, we thought it was important to create additional value along the way. In addition to the rewards we've established for our generous supporters...
An added bonus on our website is the ever-growing stories shared by women in STEM. We publish these interviews on our site so that parents, educators and advisors can learn from these stories too. This FREE CONTENT will expand your knowledge and stimulate discussions with the children in your life.
While we're focused on our initial goals, we also have an exciting longer term vision. ‘Dream big’ is not just part of our slogan, it’s what we do every day. This vision includes opportunities to give back, expand distribution networks through smart partnerships, and much more. We're sure our Kickstarter backers have many more ideas and we are thrilled to take this journey with you!
Thank you from the STEM Girls Books team!
Risks and challenges
Our first three stories have been written, circulated for feedback and passed through final editing. The risks are minimal but like any project, they do exist. We recognize the following three potential risks:
1) Illustrators are delayed. We chose our illustrators not only for their talent but also for their work ethic. Any delay due to schedule/workload conflicts would simply delay our publication date.
2) Publishing surprises as we move the books to the Amazon/Createspace platform. This is a minimal risk that we've prepared for by establishing a network of experienced Indie authors. Any obstacle would only slightly delay our expected publishing date.
3) We have filed for a trademark for the STEM Girls Books series. We conducted thorough due diligence and are confident in its acceptance. But if denied, we may need to reevaluate the series title. This will not impact the stories and in fact would come at an ideal time - giving us the ability to adjust quickly before publication of our first books.
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Funding period
- (30 days)