When Shelly Breen was a kid, she loved playing sports. But she didn't see herself in books.
"I was not a girl on the prairie. I was not a boy. I was not a princess," she reflected on What We're Reading.
Originally from Brainerd, Breen worked in college athletics and the WNBA. She's also done nonprofit work to help more girls participate in sports before turning to writing to address the gap in representation.
"I found myself in an elementary school classroom and I came across a Scholastic order form ... all I could find was girls doing horseback riding and cheerleading," Breen said. "I thought, 'What would I have wanted to read as a kid?'"
Shelly Bean the Sports Queen was Breen's answer. Written for all children, ages 4-9 years old, each book features a new sport. The series aims to help children learn about perseverance and reflection.
Breen is scheduled to be a keynote speaker at the first Diverse Texts Conference at Bemidji State University in July. The conference is aimed at K-12 educators and registration is currently open.
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What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.