Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

Perfect for:
Ages: up to 5
Occasion: Birth, first birthday, first day at school, encouragement for shy kids
 
Naming a child is a mite harder than you'd think. Pre-child, I knew exactly what I would name my children. The girl would be Luca Bleu and the twins (boy and a girl, in matching sailor suits naturally) would be Dash and Theodora (Teddy to her friends). Of course, things get a little more complicated when your child has a father with an opinion (outrageous, I know).

Which is why Rosie Bea was without a name for exactly nine months and a day. She was Elodie for at least two weeks in my 8th month of pregnancy, Mae for her first five minutes in the world and Birdie, for approximately 32 seconds, until my partner repeated what I'd just announced, flashed a look of concern and buzzed the nurse to check on my drug levels (for the record, I'm still firmly in the pro-Birdie camp).

In the end, we returned to the only name we had any agreement on. Rose. Rosie Bea. I'm not sure why he loved it so, but for me it came back to the one thing: Rosie Revere Engineer.

I was madly in love with this little heroine as soon as I read this:

"I failed", said dear Rosie. "It's just made of trash.

Didn't you see it? The cheese-copter crashed."

"Yes!" said her great aunt, "It crashed that is true. 

But first it did just what it needed to do.

Before it crashed, Rosie...

before that...

it flew!" 

This, my friends, is the book that every little girl must own.

Rosie Revere is a little girl who loves to invent. Helium pants, hot dog dispensers, snake proof hats - there's nothing she can't imagine and bring to life. But, after a discouraging moment with a well-meaning but ultimately hurtful uncle, Rosie keeps her dreams to herself, inventing only when alone and where no one can laugh at her.

Until, that is, her Great Great Aunt Rose (none other than Rosie Riveter of "We Can Do It" fame) comes to visit. Inspired by her Aunt, Rosie can't resist risking one last great invention. And although it ultimately fails, Rosie learns that you mustn't ever give up.

For a start, I love that this story encourages girls into a male dominated field. Engineering, coding, science - these are all fields that we need to get our girls excited about (Goldiblocks toys are doing a lot of great work in this area too - remember this ad?).

Secondly the illustrations, by David Roberts, are beautiful. Little Rosie is so full of spark, her expressions so sweet, especially when she's feeling doubtful and shy. The message is spot on and it reminded me of the importance of taking children's dreams seriously. How often do we laugh at their cuteness, their sweetness, when all they want is for us to really listen and believe?

I named my Rosie for Rosie Revere. In the hopes that she would have her bravery, her imagination, her ambition. But also to remind myself to encourage her talents, and my own, because no matter how many times you fall, the only true failure can come if you quit.

For some super fun Rosie Revere resources, pop by Andrea Beaty's site!