by Maria Lianos

Every so often, I find a book that is not only a great read but inspiring.  Not very often do you find this in a children’s book.

Just how big can a little girl dream?  As big as she wants!

My Name is Not Isabella is a wonderful new picture book that inspires creativity within young girls, as well as encourages the power within all of us.  Girls can use their imagination and aspire to reach for the stars, whether the goal is to be a scientist, a doctor or even mommy, all jobs are equally important.

The protagonist, Isabella, celebrates everything a woman can be by using her imagination pretending to be some of the ground-breaking women who changed history: Annie the sharpshooter, Rosa the activist, Marie the scientist, and many more.

 Jennifer Fosberry, a mother of three, was moved to create this story when she thought about the kind of women that she admired and the kind of women she thought her daughter could be. She included many personal heroes: 

Sally Ride, Annie Oakley, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Elizabeth Blackwell, and the sixth role model, Mommy.

Isabella’s Mommy is the kind of mom that not only encourages, but engages and enhances the imagination of her children. The teachable quality of this heart-warming tale empowers young girls with the knowledge that they can do anything they want while inspiring them to let their own personalities shine.

It’s refreshing to see a book like this because our society today puts such value on “role models” like pop stars and reality TV personalities.

This book conveys an empowering and inspiring message that mothers, grandmothers, aunts and sisters will want to pass along to little girls in their lives.

My Name Is Not Isabella, written by Jennifer Fosberry and illustrated by Mike Litwin, is now available for purchase at Chapters/Indigo.ca, Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. 

 (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; ISBN: 978-1-4022-4395-0; Picture Book $16.99; September 2010).