*Highlighting up and coming illustrators and authors from independent publishing houses and self-publishers*

Please reach out to MaiStoryBook through Instagram, FB, or by commenting on my blog, and *share or tag* books, authors, or illustrators who would fit into this category of independent/self publishing! I’m excited for the wonders we will find!

 Now without further ado~

Featuring this week’s female empowering and *springtime* welcoming storybooks:

The Blossom Shoppe by Katherine & Caroline Brickley, Illustrated by Joanie Stone

Published by The Blossom Company: an independent children’s book publishing company where stories truly come off the page through live, interactive storybook character programs and book-inspired products

All around me~ my world is becoming a rainbow~* A rainbow of flowers blossoming into bursts if beautiful color~* And what better way to ring in the spring blooms, than with this ode to the magic of flowers, and to the powers of family, creativity, and self-confidence and acceptance~ *The Blossom Shoppe.* In a town that is completely gray (it truly is- all gray, no color – just check out the illustrations! What a town to live in! ) Poppy and Posie Blossom find themselves dreaming for something more. When they discover that Mama Blossom has to close family flower shop, the shop Poppy and Posie love and adore, the girls resolve that they will find a way to save their flower shop. The town may think that flowers are frivolous, but the girls truly believe in the magic of flowers. As the girls use their creativity and determination to prove to their town just how special flowers truly are, they come to realize that by working together and staying true to their beliefs and passions, extraordinary *magical* things can happen~ and slowly but surly ~ their gray little town begins to burst with color~*

This beautifully illustrated book takes you inside a modern fairytale~ a tale of empowering female heroines who band together to bring out the *inspiring* true colors in each other and the world around them. Even the black and white illustrations at the beginning of the story, though lacking color, draw your attention and keep you actively scanning the pages for details and soaking up the expressions on the characters’ faces. Plus, the grey images give your imagination room to soar across the page, and fill in the colors in your minds’ eye. Slowly, color is introduced into the story, as Poppy and Posie find a way to spread the love and beauty of color and flowers throughout their gray, dreary town.  Children will delight in the gradual, seemingly magical appearance of colors the pages~ all building up to a grand spread of rainbow, cheer, and delight at the end as colorful flowers brighten up the town of gray. The text weaves a story of acceptance, perseverance, and hard work throughout the illustrations on the pages, Join Poppy and Posie on their unforgettable journey to bring flowers, color, and creativity into the world around them.

A bit more about the Authors: Katherine and Caroline Brickley

Katherine Brickley and Caroline Brickley are twenty-one-year-old twins from Connecticut, currently pursuing their degrees at Bingham University in English.  They are the co-founders of The Blossom Company, a company that aims to inspire children to become active and passionate readers, and brings stories to life through live storybook character programs and book-inspired activities and products. Katherine and Caroline portray the main characters in their book (Poppy and Posie) during live storybook reading events. They are both passionate about performing, reading and writing stories, and creating inspiring content for children. At fifteen, the sisters started a princess party entertainment company called Happily Ever After. This venture inspired them to make it possible for children to interact with storybook characters. Learn more about Katherine, Caroline, and the Blossom Company at: www.blossomcompanyct.com, and follow them on Instagram: @the_blossom_co

Check here to find this book for your own home library!

*****

More Than a Princess by Shaista Pabla, Illustrated by Drew Maunula

Published by Upon a Star Books: a publishing and publicist company in Toronto, Ontario that specializes in children’s books, helping authors and aspiring authors get their new book off the ground.

Being a Princess = Happily Ever After with Prince Charming, right? I don’t think so, not for this adventurous, independent, strong-willed princess. Princess Maya meets prince upon prince, each one clamoring to win her hand in marriage, but for the princess, her true love lies with the great outdoors and the world beyond the castle walls. Every time a suitor comes a’courting, offering her troves of jewels, enchanting palaces, heards of white horses, and luxurious robes, Princess Maya’s love for adventure and traveling the world trumps their offers of a stationary life of luxury . Despite her parents’ wished that she find a husband, the princess knows that happily-ever-after doesn’t mean handsome prince and a grand castle~ rather, true happiness lies in following her dreams. For Princess Maya, *Being a Princess= Happily Ever After pursuing adventure and exploring the wonders of the world.*

Too often, fairy tales depict passive princesses, waiting wistfully to fall in love with a prince who will whisk her away to happiness and a life of riches and splendor. So, when a princess fairytale like *More than a Princess* comes along, with a strong, independent female lead, who would rather pursue her passions than any Prince Charming, it’s an instant addition to the MaiStoryBook’s bookshelf and my own home library. For everyone with princess-obsessed little ones at home, but who feel conflicted over exposing their children to fairy tales brimming with dependent princesses and lacking strong female characters, *More than a Princess* is the perfect fairytale for  indulging in princess fantasies with a positive female role model that will encourage little ones to pursue their dreams, even when other’s try to persuade you otherwise. Through a charming, adventurous young princes character *who happens to have my namesake~ super bonus!* and a world of bold illustrations, readers enter a *once upon a time* world, where happily ever afters mean following your own passions and creating your own destiny.

A bit more about the Author: Shaista Pabla

Shaista Pabla is an emergency room nurse, wife, and mother to a four-year-old boy and twin girls, Her daughter, Maya, inspired her to create this book when she realized that there were not enough positive female role model storybook characters. Shaista’s  goal is to show young girl’s that happiness lies in following their dreams, and to not let anyone tell them otherwise or stand in their way. She enjoys writing and this is her first book. When she is not nursing or writing, Shaista enjoys baking and eating cookies! To learn more, check out her website: www.morethanaprincess.ca, and follow her on Instagram: @morethanaprincess.

Check here to find this book for your own home library!

*****

*~Support these independent/self-published authors and illustrators and check out what they’ve been writing and creating.  Please share any books, authors, or illustrators that fit into this category by tagging me on Instagram @MaiStoryBookLibrary,  posting on MaiStoryBook’s FaceBook page, or commenting on the blog below! I’m always looking for new treasures to read, support, and share with all of you!~*

*Plus, checkout out one of my favorite female empowering interactive read alouds  here. *

*~Until Next Time, Happy Reading~*