Dublin dad Gavin Leonard announces that Jade’s Fan-tastic Athletic Adventure – featuring Special Olympics athlete, Nora – will be available online throughout March! Not Just a Princess has already sold over 20,000 books worldwide and first launched the special inclusive charity Fairytale book in October 2019. Gavin originally created the series in 2017 to empower his young daughter, Jade. Each of the princesses in the series possess special skills and talents and work together to make the world a better place. Jade’s Fan-tastic Athletic Adventure sees Princess Jade joined by Special Olympics athlete and lifeguard, Nora. Together they must save the Special Olympics after a catastrophic weather event threatens to cancel the competition. Princess Jade and her robotic monkey Hou Hou [pronounced Ho-Ho] need the help of Nora to ensure that the Special Olympics can go ahead.
The book is inclusive and culturally diverse, in keeping with the rest of the Not Just a Princess series. Gavin hopes that the free eBook, which will be available on the Not Just a Princess website throughout March, can be used as a learning resource for teachers and parents that are currently home-schooling. The dad-of-one has been working with Down Syndrome Ireland, Special Olympics Ireland as well as psychotherapist and parenting expert Joanna Fortune on additional content to complement the release of the eBook. Alongside the online download Gavin is also working on inclusive factsheets and activity pages to help children learn more about Special Olympics and Down Syndrome Ireland. Every day in March 2021 Not Just a Princess will release specially curated online content to raise awareness and help educate children.
Gavin said: “Home-schooling is tough and can be very tedious – 2020 was a very difficult year for so many people. We hope that by making our book available for free we can bring some joy to families. We also hope that the book, along with lots of other exciting content, can be used by parents and teachers to start a conversation about the Special Olympics and Down Syndrome Ireland with their children. It is so important to us that Not Just a Princess is inclusive, diverse and fun for everyone who reads the series!” The book can be downloaded for free, but Gavin is encouraging those who can donate to Down Syndrome Ireland and Special Olympics Ireland to give what they can to support the organisations this March. The book has previously been praised by both Down Syndrome Ireland and Special Olympics Ireland with CEO Matt English describing Jade’s Fan-tastic Athletic Adventure as “a great way to speak to a younger audience in their own language” while a spokesperson for Down Syndrome Ireland commented: “Down syndrome should not define who a person is and what they can do and achieve, and the ‘Not Just a Princess’ book really reflects that. As people with Down syndrome are given opportunities to lead more inclusive lives, we see more and more what they can achieve, and we are very proud to be part of that journey.”
To get your FREE copy of the special Not Just a Princess title Jade’s Fan-Tastic Athletic Adventure visit www.notjustaprincess.com and follow the online instructions.
