Inspiration on every page

CHILDREN’S BEDTIME reading can evolve from fantasies about wizards and princesses to tales of real-life feminist heroines with the new book “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2”.
But everyone agrees this is not just a book for kids.
Just released by Nanmeebooks, Volume 2 follows up on the original – a New York Times bestseller – with profiles of 100 more of the most successful and interesting women in history, from Nefertiti to Beyonce. Each is given a single page filled with witty and inspirational thoughts. 

Little known in her ancestral homeland, Sarinya Srisakul is the AsianAmerican woman to serve with the New York Fire Department.

Nanmeebooks had a hit with the first volume, and for the second recruited the same three well-known Thai women to translate the words of original authors Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli. 
Emcee Saraichatt Jirapaet, actress Siriyakorn Pukkavesa Markworth and professional translator Ploysang Akyard have done a wonderful job crafting the Thai edition, which was launched recently at the Open House Bookstore at Central Embassy in Bangkok.
Where Volume 1 featured such personalities as Queen Elizabeth I, Michelle Obama and Serena Williams, the follow-up ranges just as widely, casting spells of a different kind with profiles JK Rowling and Beatrix Potter, the authors who created Harry Potter and Peter Rabbit, respectively.
There is the World War 1 exotic dancer-turned-spy Mata Hari and Mary Shelley, the author of “Frankenstein”. There’s another fascinating US first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. And you can read about Buffalo Calf Road Woman, who played such an important role in Native American history, and the 19th-century Chinese revolutionary Qiu Jin. 
Another page is dedicated to the three African American women whose mathematical calculations for Nasa were crucial to the Mercury and Gemini space programmes and who were the subjects of the Oscar-nominated film “Hidden Figures”. They are Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson.

Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson 

Contemporary “rebels” profiled include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, golfer Lorena Ochoa, Afghan graffiti artist Shamsia Hasani and entertainers Madonna, Ellen Degeneres and Oprah Winfrey. 
Apart from the selection of subjects, what makes the book so striking is the portraits drawn and painted by 60 top female artists in a dazzling array of styles. 
Volume 1 came out in 2016, the product of a crowdfunding campaign, and sold 60,000 copies. Volume 2 turned again to the “crowd” and took in $1 million dollars within 30 hours from 71 counties. The overseas publisher has prepared 100,000 copies and will likely need to print more. 
Of special appeal to Thai readers in the second edition is a profile of Sarinya Srisakul, the first Thai and first Asian-American woman to serve with the New York Fire Department, yet she’s barely known in Thailand. 
Her father thought she was crazy when told she’d signed up to become a firefighter. “The main thing about being ‘heroic’ is helping others,” Sarinya is quoted as saying. A colleague says, “Sarinya was the first on the scene whenever there was a woman who needed help.” Her explanation: “Sometimes seeing a face like your own gives a huge sense of relief to someone in an emotional state.”
“The ‘rebel girls’ give off a very positive energy,” said Sansanee Tulyathanabordee, who helped edit both volumes’ Thai editions. 
“Women can be independent, confident, creative and different. They can change the world. The authors selected stories about figures very diverse in age, nationality and religion to reaffirm that, no matter who you are, what you have become or what you’re fighting for, everybody has a dream and you should never give up on it. 

Audrey Hepburn

“There was a Brazilian woman who dreamed of being a novelist,” Sansanee said, “but along the way she became a mother, a baker and many other things – until she turned 75, when her dream finally came true.
“The authors, Cavallo and Favilli, used to work in Silicon Valley and were inspired to write the book after being subjected to discrimination by their male colleagues. That’s what drove them to pursue this strong and empowering project.”
Translator Saraichatt said the book – both volumes – feels “like my child”. 
“I heard about it when it was first released in the US,” she said. “I’m really impressed by many of the remarkable women profiled. It’s enchanting and inspiring. 
“I told my daughter [Bella Jirapaet, an award-winning dancer and ballerina] that there was a ballerina in the book. That’s how it relates to modern times and shows you how you can change the world, how you can inspire others. You don’t have to be an inventor, but just be good at whatever you do and be confident. Do the best you can.”
Saraichatt noted that JK Rowling presented her first Harry Potter novel to publishers under her given name, Joanne. “They told her book buyers might decide a book by a woman wouldn’t be as enjoyable as one by a male author,” so she switched to the gender-neutral “JK”. 
Saraichatt said one of her favourite biographical essays in Volume 1 is the story of Rosa Parks, the African American woman who in 1955 famously refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in what was then a brutally racist American South. 

JK Rowling

Defying Alabama state law and the demands of the bus driver, Parks inadvertently helped trigger the civil-rights movement. 
“To be honest, I don’t know half of the 100 remarkable women in this book, but I’m eager to find out more, which is why ‘Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls’ is suitable for readers of all ages. You learn not only about the person but about history too. 
“I look at every woman and every mother as my icons. My mother was single mum and a police investigator and I wonder how she ever managed. People told me I couldn’t be a freelance emcee or have a baby, but it’s been two decades now and I’m proud of myself.”
Sirinya “Cindy” Bishop, who’s enjoyed a successful career as a fashion model and become increasingly outspoken about women’s issues, said she found the book “very timely” given the global #MeToo and #Time’sUp movements against gender inequality and sexual harassment. She initiated the campaign “Don’t Tell Me How to Dress” last year, which caught on like wildfire.
“As a model I had to work twice as hard just to overcome the perception that models were beautiful and nothing more,” she said. “Well, I’m a successful model and an emcee. I have my own business and now I’m an activist too. 

Qiu Jin

“My campaign’s message isn’t only about sexual assault but also about stopping the blame being put on victims of assault. And the more I campaign, the more I realise how little people know about the problem and how many willing to accept a double standard. 
“As a mother, I believe this book should be read to both girls and boys,” Cindy said, “for her to dream big and for him to be respectful. 
“Women can transform the world just through the little things we do. This book about real lives shows us that imaginative writing doesn’t have to be about fairytale princesses.”
  

REBELS HAVE DREAMS TOO
>> “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2” from Nanmeebooks is sold for Bt795 (hardcover) at the Open House Bookshop, Wankaew Bookstore and other shops and at www.Nanmeebooks.com.