58 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • APRIL 12, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
50 Queens girls transform into astronauts,
presidents and more in Forest Hills moms’ book
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
Forest Hills residents Sharita Manickam
and Jen Bruno are looking to show young
girls that no career is off limits.
Manickam and Bruno, who live in the
same building, began coordinating play
dates with their children aft er discovering
that they had mutual friends.
Both women are in creative fi elds —
Manickam developed a script for NBC
and Bruno is a photographer — and are
now using their talents to create “Rad
Girl Revolution,” a 30-page photo book
depicting young girls in careers oft en
underrepresented by women.
“When my fi rst daughter was a baby
I had written a poem imagining all the
things she could be when she grew up,”
Manickam said. “Jen had photographed
both my girls, so I approached her about
the idea.”
On April 5, the duo launched a
Kickstarter to raise $15,000 to edit, print
and ship 1,000 copies of their photo book
and to cover expenses for costumes, props
and location fees. In just fi ve days, $11,591
has been raised.
“It was around the time of the election
when we were able to see kind of an
energy and enthusiasm grow in the children
that we were around,” Bruno said.
“I think for our children, my son was so
completely confused that there had not
been a female president. Th at was the
start of the fi rst conversation that we had
about an imbalance in gender in certain
positions.”
Bruno has fi nished about half the portraits
needed for the book and Manickam
is writing short descriptive rhymes for
each career. Girls are depicted in the
book as a president, police offi cer, fi refi
ghter, chef, artist, astronaut, journalist
Sharita Manickam and Jen Bruno will release “Rad Girl Revolution,” a photo book showcasing girls in careers underrepresented by women.
and more. Local businesses have donated
their spaces for photo shoots and parents
have enthusiastically allowed their children
to participate in the shoots.
In addition to a variety of careers, it
was important to the duo to represent a
diverse array of children.
“Being in a neighborhood where there
are so many children of such diverse
backgrounds we wanted to make sure that
every child that picks up that book can
see themselves in some way,” Bruno said.
“We got models with Down syndrome, a
model that has a severe hearing impairment,
one with type 1 juvenile diabetes.”
Frankie Lyner, 2, who has Down syndrome,
posed as an artist at a photo
shoot at Little Pulp, a collaborative art
and printmaking workshop for kids in
Glendale.
“Th is 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 Farah
Lyner, her mother.
Parents from around the country have
expressed their support for the project
and both women have been surprised by
the amount of excitement the book has
generated.
“I’m originally from Kansas. Sharita
is from Maryland,” Bruno said. I think
we’ve been so excited about the response
that we’ve seen within our neighborhood
but outside of New York, as well. We have
so many people say, ‘I’m so glad you’re
doing this. I wanted my girls to see this.’”
Th ose who donate to the Kickstarter
campaign will receive rewards like a Rad
Girl coloring book, a sticker sheet, a
Madam President T-shirt, a school pack
with 10 copies of the book, sticker sheets
and a customized lesson plan for teachers
for pre-K through second-grade students.
Photos by Jen Bruno
People who pledge $2,000 or more will
get a photo session for their children with
10 edited photos for up to two children.
Th ough there are children’s books
depicting historic women in the past,
Manickam said it’s important for young
girls to think about their futures.
“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,”
Manickam said. “We also want our book
to appeal to 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 to 7.”
Th e books will be fi nished by November
and though they will print 1,000 books,
both Manickam and Bruno are hoping it
impacts more girls and boys around the
country.
“We would love to meet our goal we
would really love to exceed our goal,”
Bruno said. “We want this book in the
hands of little girls and little boys across
the country.”
Th e Kickstarter campaign will expire on
May 5 and the project will only be funded
if the money is collected before that
date. To donate to this project, visit the
Kickstarter page.
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