She Leads: The Elephant Matriarch

She Leads is a children’s story book to inspire young girls everywhere. You’ll follow the inspiring journey of the Queen Elephant Matriarch and learn about African elephants throughout the journey.

Written by June Smalls and illustrated by Yumi Shimokawara, this book was intended to inspire girls everywhere to persevere and become leaders of their own generation. The author dedicates She Leads to her daughter, her daughter’s daughters, and all of the daughters to come after them down the line. I found that to be such an inspiring dedication.

Being completely honest, She Leads inspired me as well. I wish that my Acadia was living, for as many reasons as there are stars in the sky, this book is another one. I wish that I could spend hours reading this one with her.

I am a member of the Cherokee Nation and, in our tribe, we are Matriarchal. Everything is handed down through the women: our clans, traditions, beliefs are all passed through our mothers. So I have a special connection to matriarchies.

Of course, no matter what ethnicity one belongs to, mothers are, quite often, the strength in our families. Women are priceless, though somewhere along the way we often forget that. Whether it be forgetting our own value or forgetting the value of other women.

She Leads has a simplistic story form, perfect for any young child and, at the bottom of the spreads, has facts about elephants. I love that in the back of the book the sources are listed! It can inspire children to look for the sources and to learn more about the topics. Being that it’s in a children’s book, if properly utilized, it can inspire the curiosity to confirm sources (that we seem to have lost with social media) and delve further into things. In my opinion, this is something that we should teach our children: to confirm sources!

Overview (from Books a Million):

She Leads

She is the Queen. The matriarch.

She leads her daughters and their daughters.

Inspiring text and striking illustrations follow the empowering journey of an elephant matriarch as she leads her family through the wilds of Africa. With facts about African elephants on every spread and a message that will encourage young girls to be the trailblazers of their generation, She Leads offers an incredible story and an unforgettable tribute to the strength of a true leader.

Open your eyes, princess. One day you will lead.

About the Author: June Smalls

June Smalls is a Virginia based author who lives with her husband, child and a growing number of animals. She was published for the very first time in first grade! June has swam with sharks, fed tigers, bears, giraffes, sting rays and sea turtles, met an elephant, rode a camel, came face to face with a wild skunk, and was bitten by an emu…twice. I love that she even has a place on her website for aspiring authors to gain from her wisdom! What a wonderful, sweet thing to add!

You can check out her website at: https://junesmalls.com/

For the Boys:

Don’t worry, there is a wonderful book for our boys as well. He Leads: Mountain Gorilla the Gentle Giant is available to inspire young boys! I haven’t read that one yet, but I’m certain that it will be just as inspiring as She Leads is! Of course, I’ll be checking that out eventually for the boys, I hope that you are already subscribing so that you will automatically get the My Crafty Zoo Newsletter in your inbox! (yes, that WAS a shameless plug and no, I don’t feel bad at all. lol)