It all began with Wonder Woman.
Twelve-year-old Ella Rosario had gone to work one day with her father, Jeremy Rosario, and was watching a video of her favorite super hero when her dad heard an NPR report about the rapidly increasing rate of suicide attempts among girls aged 10-14 in the U.S.
Alarmed, Jeremy Rosario, an advertising creative director and fine artist, knew he had to do something.
“I thought, can we use art somehow as a tool for positive change and to help those girls that are suffering in silence?” Jeremy Rosario said.
An idea came to him, and he shared it with Ella, the youngest of his four children and his only daughter.
“He was like, ‘What if we make an ABC book of just encouraging words for girls?’” remembers Ella, now 17.
Jeremy handed Ella a sketchbook and prompted her to think of an inspiring word for every letter of the alphabet and to sketch illustrations for each word.
Fast-forward five years. The Delaware-based father-daughter duo are now the authors of The ABCs of Encouragement for Girls. The book features twenty-six words – one for each letter of the alphabet – with affirmative descriptions and colorful illustrations intended to help girls develop confidence and resilience.
To celebrate the book’s launch, an exhibition of the original artwork for the book, Jeremy and Ella Rosario: ABCs of Encouragement for Girls – An Art Exhibit for Positive Change, runs through Aug. 24 at the McConnell Arts Center of Worthington.
Jeremy Rosario says the book is designed as a conversation starter, so parents and caregivers can help girls recognize and develop the strengths that lie within them.
“It’s a basic ABC book that any caregiver or older sibling or anyone can use to have positive conversations introducing some words that are going to be the right building blocks in the minds of young girls, with the goal of strengthening them,” Jeremy Rosario said.
Each of the words featured in the book celebrates a particular character attribute. The letter B, for instance, represents “brave” and has the description “Do the right thing, even when you’re scared.” The letter E represents “encouraging,” and readers learn “You have the power to build up others.” The letter V stands for “valuable,” which comes with the reminder “You are valuable and of great purpose.”
The book offers caregivers a starting point for sharing with children the wisdom they’ve gained through life lessons.
“A tool like that really gives the ability to any caregiver to open up and share their own experiences,” Jeremy Rosario said. “So that way, it’s like, ‘Hey, let me tell you about a time when things were not going well and I had to be brave. And here’s what happened, and here’s what I did.’ So engaging in those kinds of conversations and pouring that wisdom in the minds of young girls, I feel like it can come out in a positive way by strengthening families.”
A series of father-daughter conversations brought about The ABCs of Encouragement for Girls. Based on Ella’s selected words and initial sketches, Jeremy created the final illustrations in Adobe InDesign. Jeremy and Ella developed every aspect of the book – from refining word choices, to perfecting the concepts and details of each illustration – together.
“He’s like, ‘Hey, how does this look? Do you think we should change the definition at all?’” Ella Rosario said. “So I’ve been kind of like an editor, I would say. It was like a little professional relationship with my father.”
Jeremy and Ella Rosario will discuss their collaboration in two programs in conjunction with the exhibition at the McConnell Arts Center. On Thursday, Aug. 10 at 7 p.m., the authors will give a guided tour of the exhibition. On Saturday, Aug. 12 at 1 p.m., they will talk about some of the pressures girls face today, share stories about women who have overcome adversity and discuss the making of The ABCs of Encouragement for Girls, from the initial concept sketches to the finished book.
The father-daughter duo say they hope the fruits of their own conversations about character and resilience will help bring other families together. And Ella says The ABCs of Encouragement for Girls offers a corrective to what she sees as a persistent myth about girls.
“Growing up, I saw a lot of encouraging things for guys, saying, ‘Boys are strong.’ Specifically that. Boys are strong. And I feel like, as a little girl, I’m like, can I not be strong? Am I supposed to be weak and always protected?” Ella Rosario said. “I feel like this book will show girls, wait, I can be strong, too. I can support myself. I can be okay. And I feel like that’s just something everyone actually needs to know. It’s okay to be strong for yourself, have that support in just you.”
Jeremy and Ella Rosario: ABCs of Encouragement for Girls – An Art Exhibit for Positive Change runs through Aug. 24 in the Corridor Galleries of the McConnell Arts Center of Worthington (MAC). Copies of the ABCs of Encouragement for Girls can be purchased at the MAC during the run of the exhibition.
