To celebrate the publication of Together We Can, I spoke to Sarah Farrell from The Reading Realm about why I wrote the book and what I hope it will achieve. Here's a copy of the interview:

Princess Jasmine is no ordinary princess. Oh no. She's hates long dresses and bows and definitely does NOT want to hang around waiting for a prince to marry her!

She would much rather be outdoors, running races with the wind in her hair. Unfortunately, her family have other ideas. They don't think running around and getting sweaty is very becoming and would rather Jasmine spent her time getting ready for her Big Birthday Ball.

I am thrilled to announce that Girls Can do Anything has been shortlisted for the Independent Bookshop Week Book Awards 2019!

Girls Can Do Anything has been published in eleven countries so far including:

UK, China, Greece, Korea, Macedonia, South Africa, Spain (Spanish and Catalan), Taiwan, USA and Wales.

This is a copy of a piece I wrote for Booktrust.

Girls Can Do Anything is a book about choices. It tells children that girls can have whatever interests they chose, that they can pursue any career path they choose and that their choices are as valid and valuable as anyone else’s. It is a book that says your gender does not define you.

Here in the UK, our society is becoming increasingly diverse and multicultural, but that diversity is not adequately reflected in the books our children read. When I first started writing, I did not specifically set out to look at diversity in books, it’s just something I became aware of as I got more familiar with the world of children’s publishing. So I started asking for some of my characters to be non-white.

Princess Eliza is fantastic at inventing things.. but when her mum suggests she puts down her tools and starts making friends instead, Eliza ends up on an adventure she never could have imagined. And she makes some very special friends on the way too!

Kristina Stephenson is the QUEEN of events when it comes to bringing her books alive so I have been delighted that she's been touring the country recently with our book Lunch on a Pirate Ship

Our 8TH Albie adventure publishes today - Hooray!

This time, Albie is off on an arctic adventure with his new friend Yura and her polar bear. With stunning scenery and plenty of excitement, this may be the best adventure yet!

Valentina Tereshkova – Cosmonaut (Russia) - First woman in space

What do you want to be when you grow up? An astronaut of course! Yes, but you won’t ever become an astronaut. Or a professional footballer or a famous youtuber or a film star or a pop star. At least, that’s what hundreds of children will hear from adults they trust. They will be told that their dreams are not for them. They they are not good enough to achieve those dreams. That these are things other people do.

Karen Gaffney - Swimmer and Advocate for People with Disabilities (USA)

First person with Downs Syndrome to complete a relay swim across the English Channel

The 2012 Olympic Games marked a turning point for me in terms of disability awareness and the television campaign that marked the run up to the games was a major influence in the writing of Girls Can Do Anything.

Chimamanda Adichie is a Nigerian author who lives part time in the United States. She’s won numerous prizes for her work including the Commonwealth Writers prize 2005, the Orange Prize for fiction in 2007, The McArthur Genius Grant in 2008 and the PEN Pinter Prize this year.

Malala Yuousafzai - Human Rights Activist (Pakistan/UK)

Youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

The Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women would not be complete without a portrait of this incredible young woman.

Girls Can Do Anything, written by me and illustrated by Ali Pye, is a celebration of all the things girls can do. It attempts to demonstrate to very young children that there is no job or hobby that cannot be enjoyed by those of us who were born in female bodies. One of the verses says:

Peng Lei (Lucy Peng) – Businesswoman (China)

Co-founder and CEO of Ant Financial Services

I chose Peng Lei, otherwise known as Lucy Peng to appear in the Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women, because she’s a highly successful business woman who founded her own company that has recently been valued at around $60 billion. That’s a lot of money she’s made.

In our Girls Can Do Anything Gallery of Inspirational Women, we've tried to pick out mainly contemporary figures who are relevant to our lives now. But one or two historic women have made it to the gallery, including Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

Here's why we chose her:

Not all the people featured in our Girls Can Do Anything Gallery of Inspirational Women are famous. Some are just ordinary, extraordinary people going about their daily lives. They are women who are busy making a living doing the jobs they love. People like Sue Wimpenny. She's not famous, she's not on telly (though she was in The Independent once) but she IS doing a job that many of us would not expect a woman to do.

Serena Williams – Tennis Champion and Icon (USA)

Many of the women I’ve chosen to appear in the Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women, are not high profile. They are not especially in the public eye, and some are not even famous at all. But Serena Williams is, most definitely, smack bang in the middle of the public eye and rightly so. I think it’s safe to say she’s an icon of feminine power and physical prowess and probably, in fact, as close as you can get to an actual goddess.

Arunima Sinha – Mountaineer (India)

First female amputee to climb Mount Everest

The next inspirational woman to appear in our Girls Can Do Anything gallery is Arunima Sinha. Here's why we chose her:

Lots of women climb mountains. Quite a few have even summited Everest.

Nicola Adams – Boxer (UK)

First female and openly LGBTQ person to win a boxing gold at the Olympics

If you've been reading my blog posts, you'll know by now that I have a new book out soon. It's called, Girls Can Do Anything and is illustrated by Ali Pye and published on 2 August by Scholastic.