Lara the Star Engineer Available in Arabic to Inspire Young Engineers

‘Lara the Star Engineer’ is a fantastical children’s book with a simple, yet powerful, message - one that former software engineer and author Komal Singh felt the need to spread when she heard her then-four year old daughter say, “Oh mamma, all engineers are boys.” From then on, she was determined to help her daughter and son understand that getting into STEM has nothing to do with your gender, and that anyone can reach for the stars. And to do that, she came up with a story about an ambitious little girl named Lara (or Ara, in the original release) who reached for the stars - literally.

On April 22nd, the International Day for Girls in ICT, ‘Lara the Star Engineer’ was released in Arabic across the MENA region in partnership with Arab Scientific Publishers. While the book aims to inspire young children aged five to nine with its precocious fictional character, it also highlights real-life female engineering leaders from Google and the MENA region to represent the many faces of female scientists.