Mom’s Choice Awards is excited to announce another post in our interview series where we chat with the inventors, designers, publishers, and others behind some of our favorite family-friendly products.
Hello, Mom’s Choice readers! Thank you all for joining us for another interview in an ongoing series. For this interview, we were able to speak with Gurkiran Sandhu, author of the Mom’s Choice Award-winning book, The girl who wanted to be an Astronaut! The girl who wanted to be an Astronaut is a book dedicated to all the girls who think it is okay to be different and follow their dreams and aspirations. It is educational, inspirational, and highly motivating. The book is written in simple words and very meaningful/powerful language aiming to motivate girls of all ages from 3 to 15. With all the things going on in the world today, kids these days need stories that will help them be compassionate, strong-willed and work hard to achieve their goals. The girl who wanted to be an Astronaut helps parents and kids communicate about patience and how to be passionate about the good things in life. Keep reading to find out more about Gurkiran and her incredible book, The girl who wanted to be an Astronaut!
MCA: Hi Gurkiran, thank you so much for joining us today, and a huge congratulations on your Mom’s Choice Award! Can we first start the interview by finding out a little background about yourself?
Gurkiran Sandhu’s MCA award-winning book, “The girl who wanted to be an Astronaut!”
Gurkiran: I am an engineer by profession and have been in the technology industry in Silicon Valley for over 2 decades. I am also a restaurateur owning multiple restaurants in the Bay Area for over a decade. My hobbies include writing children’s books, playing golf, and traveling the world.
MCA: As the great Hans Christian Andersen once said, To travel is to live! What was your path to becoming a writer like?
Gurkiran: I have traveled the world and while I was traveling, I thought it would be nice to share my journey with young kids who haven’t gotten a chance to travel, so I started to write travel books for children. The books I wrote were loved by many around the world and I have sold thousands of copies worldwide. From travel books, I went on to write books to teach kids various languages and introduce them to different cultures around the world and now I just want to write books to motivate children to follow their dreams and aspirations.
MCA: What a wonderful mission to have behind your writing! What was your inspiration for writing The girl who wanted to be an Astronaut?
Gurkiran: Recently with all the turmoil in the world, it is important we support our young generation and help them achieve their goals. It is very important for them to understand that nothing comes easy and that hard work and dedication are the key to success. If they follow the right path, they can do whatever they want in life and do great things. That is the reason I wrote this book.
MCA: What are some of the key lessons found in The girl who wanted to be an Astronaut?
MCA award-winning author, Gurkiran Sandhu!
Gurkiran:a. It is okay to be different.
b. Set your goals and work hard to achieve them.
c. Never give up
d. Girl/Boys/Men/Women are all equal
MCA: Those are all lessons we at MCA can definitely get behind! What kind of response from readers have you received?
Gurkiran: I am so overwhelmed with the response I have gotten with this book. So many readers have shown their gratitude and mentioned that more such books should be written that motivate little children to do well in life and keep them away from low self-esteem and depression.
MCA: Tell us the importance of books that help empower young girls!
Gurkiran: It is very unfortunate to see girls/women struggle to get equal rights in the world today whether it is the right to education in some countries or pay disparity in any country. Having said that, if girls decide they want to achieve something, they totally can. All they have to do is set their goals, go one step at a time, follow the right path, don’t be afraid to make mistakes and stay determined.
MCA: If you could ensure readers of your book walk away with one main lesson, what would it be?
Gurkiran: One main lesson for the readers would be to let kids follow their dreams and goals. Support your kids. For kids, it will be that set your goals and work hard – the world is your oyster!
MCA: That it most certainly is!
You can learn more about Gurkiran Sandhu and her award-winning book, The girl who wanted to be an Astronaut by visiting their MCA Shop pages.
