Diary of an Astronaut

Today, only one-fifth of best selling children’s books feature female leads. For the longest time, girls have been missing out on seeing themselves as explorers and leaders. Representation matters, because when women are invisible, girls learn that boys are more important than them, that they can't be scientists, technologists, engineers, mathematicians and leaders. These stories we tell children are important, influencing self-beliefs that begin to form early on. Research shows that, girls as young as six don’t think they’re as “smart” as boys, and when asked to draw a scientist, two-thirds of children aged 9 to 11 draw a man

We believe that stories are a powerful tool for the progression of women. During our co-design process with kids aged 3-9 we identified elements that both girls and boys gravitated towards (pancakes, cute pets, sparkling exploding stars, aliens with silly hats). We combined all of these elements into a series that places women in adventurous roles for which they’re underrepresented- in both the literary and real world. Diary of an Astronaut is our first release (11% of history’s space explorers are women), followed by Diary of a Marine biologist (16% of qualified STEM force are women), Fossil Hunter, and Pharoah.

Right now, 50% of our population is underrepresented in innovation and decision making roles. Referred to as the leaky pipeline, young girls begin disengaging from STEM and losing confidence before they even begin primary school. In the future of work, and life, we need everyone at the table. To plug this pipeline, we’re changing the narrative for young girls, and increasing opportunities for STEM-inspired play. We're dedicated to designing diverse stories that reflect the real world so that every child has the chance to see someone like them leading the way. If they can see it, they can be it.

The Talu Tales universe is big. BIG BIG. Just like our real universe. The universe is made up of multiple mini-worlds- that our main characters live in. Each main character and mini-world focuses on a different archetype: Luna the astronaut is an inventor, Miko the marine biologist is an activist, Pip the fossil hunter is an explorer and Cleo the pharaoh is a leader. Through fun, colourful and fantastical characters we’re empowering young girls to build confidence in these 4 areas, and fall in love with a character they see themselves in. By having interconnected mini worlds and diverse lead characters, we can meet children wherever they are and engage them in STEM education. Whether they love mermaids, shooting stars, dinosaurs or pyramids. Each mini-world and character connects in the series, allowing readers to visit other characters in different stories and in our companion card game products. The glossary in each book pulls out the fantasy elements and focuses on facts that were selected in consultation with academic experts. The series in its entirety is an accessible creative STEM tool for educators. Our first release, the creative storytelling game, is in use by teachers, occupational therapists and educators Australia wide.