Mom's Choice Awards Triple Gold for Perfectly Awkward Tales-- a Fairy Tale Series Where Self-Acceptance is the Hero, Penned by a Princess, Her Sister, and Their Mom.
Perfectly Awkward Tales is honored to announce that all 3 books in their series have earned the Mom's Choice Gold Award (MCA).
Los Angeles, CA, July 19, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Perfectly Awkward Tales has earned the prestigious Mom’s Choice Gold Award® (MCA) for all 3 books in the Perfectly Awkward Tales series: Ninetta & Confidence, Aila & Determination, and Vasilisa & Intuition. Perfectly Awkward Tales is a series of empowering fairy tales where self-acceptance is the hero. The MCA program is globally recognized for establishing the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly products.
“We are extremely honored to receive a triple Gold Award from Mom’s Choice. A lot of love went into creating these powerful stories,” says the family writing team from Perfectly Awkward Tales: Princess Ivana (yes, she is a real princess), her sister Marisa Smith, and their mom Magdalene Smith. “We share these awards with artist Hanna Barczyk, whose full-page illustrations are emotionally driven, bold, conceptual, and delicate. They bring each story to life.”
Princess Ivana, Magdalene Smith, and Marisa Smith created Perfectly Awkward Tales because they wanted to change the fairy tale narrative to one of true self-acceptance and emotional intelligence.
“Einstein said, If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales. He was talking about EQ—emotional intelligence–which is harder to teach than math, but just as essential,” says Magdalene.
Princess Ivana is a self-described A-type personality. “As a working mom with two young kids, I am constantly coming up with task lists to make sure my family is on track. Good grades, check. Sports, check. Manners, check (well, kind of). But after years of checklists, I realized I was missing an important task: how to grow my kids’ emotional intelligence so they are not a-holes. I know thinking of my kids as potential a-holes is not the politically correct thing to say,” she adds. “But seriously, in today’s world, a lot of parents are wondering the same thing. How do we grow a really good person? Empathetic, grateful, thoughtful, generous—those qualities that make us a valuable, positive part of society. The stories we read matter. They influence who we become.”
Marisa believes, “Every person is different and a little weird. That isn’t a bad thing. Weird can be fun, once we stop trying to be someone else.” That’s what Perfectly Awkward Tales is all about.
The Perfectly Awkward Tales Mom’s Choice Gold Award winning series includes:
Ninetta & Confidence: Can a weirdo be a hero? Ninetta finds out when she discovers a magic garden, a greedy king, and a secret only she can unravel when she discovers her power. Confidence.
Vasilisa & Intution: Vasilisa must outsmart Baba Yaga, a powerful witch with iron teeth who likes to have children for supper. (Not as a guest, but as the main course!) With the help of her faithful doll, Inti, Vasilisa discovers her power. Intuition.
Aila & Determination: Aila is thirteen years old, an orphan with no one in the world but her baby sister, Maisie. But Maisie has disappeared. Stolen by powerful fairies from the Land of Sidh. When Aila begins the impossible journey to find her, she discovers her power. Determination.
About Perfectly Awkward Tales
Authors Princess Ivana, Magdalene Smith, and Marisa Smith. Together the two sisters and their mom have written over 100 blogs and articles on positive parenting that have reached over 2 million people worldwide. Their first book was an iTunes bestseller, A Simple Guide to Pregnancy & Baby’s First Year, and their new fairy tale series, Perfectly Awkward Tales just received 3 Mom’s Choice Gold Awards. Their books have received 3 Mom's Choice Gold awards, a Mom's Choice Silver, a National Parenting Publications award, and SheKnows Editor's Choice and Best Book awards.
Princess Ivana is a mother of two and a Chief Digital Officer in Silicon Valley. She is also a princess married to an Italian prince. The couple met while Ivana was on scholarship at Pepperdine. "Marriage was the last thing on my mind," Ivana recalls. "I had been working since I was fourteen and knew the golden key to my dreams was an education, not a prince, however charming. I came from a modest, funny family who taught me: Dream big. Never give up. Be yourself and laugh often." Ivana has a Masters of Education. She has worked with children for over 20 years.
Magdalene Smith raised three children (including Ivana & Marisa) across three countries, and worked at a variety of jobs from owning a café-theater in Spain to singing on stage in Paris, to writing books. Magdalene has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College. She is the recipient of a Vogelstein Foundation grant, Wurlitzer Foundation fellowships, University of New Mexico Resident Writer's Award, and a Martin Foundation for the Creative Arts grant.
Marisa Smith always knew she was different and thought it was a horrible thing. She finally figured out it was okay to be herself, weirdness and all. She went from not knowing what to do, to loving what she does. Marisa hopes you enjoy our Perfectly Awkward Tales as much as she loves writing them with her perfectly awkward family.
Illustrator: Hanna Barczyk is a conceptual artist whose illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, among other major publications. She has been recognized by The Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, Creative Quarterly and 3x3 (Magazine of Contemporary Illustration).
Celebrate our Award-winning Perfectly Awkward Tales!
We are thrilled about winning 3 Mom’s Choice Gold awards. To celebrate,
Perfectly Awkward Tales is offering our beautifully animated eBooks for just $2.99 each.
What People Are Saying
“The most wonderful children's books I think I've ever read...” --Elena Upson, mom
“A tribute to girl power, encouraging young women to break molds and fearlessly be themselves. Perfectly Awkward Tales should be in every classroom.” --Meghann McNaught, kindergarten teacher
“Powerful message! These books are amazing and empower youth to be who they were born to be.”--Becki Hanson, 1st-grade teacher
“As a 4th-grade teacher, I value literature that empowers girls to be strong, independent, and confident. Perfectly Awkward Tales' self-reliant characters encourage girls to stay true to themselves. I enjoy integrating these inspiring stories into my curriculum.” --Marissa Ochoa, District Teacher of the Year; Top-Ten Finalist for San Diego County Teacher of the Year
“Feminist fairy tales every girl and boy should read!”--Lynn Hamrick, award-winning television director, The Baby-Sitters Club, Fudge, and Family Ties.
For more on Perfectly Awkward Tales, go to www.perfectlyawkwardtales.com
Source: Perfectly Awkward Tales