AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Play & Learning
GOALS
Gender Equality
KEYWORDS
gender, equality
COUNTRY
United States of America
DESIGNED BY
Mara Binudin, Rad Seed
WEBSITE
https://www.yoursecretcode.com/
Chloe's Secret Code
Secret Code is as an antidote to stereotyping girls and women.
Secret Code is a children's book follows the adventures of young girl who loves coding and dislikes chores so much that she programs a robot to pick up after her. The robot, however, takes matters into his own hands and its creator must save the day.
What makes the book, which is available to order online only, even better is the ability to customize the heroine to reflect a girl's appearance and race or ethnicity. Mara Binudin-Lecocq, a digital creative director, said she developed Secret Code as an antidote to the stereotype that girls and women don't thrive in science, tech, math and engineering careers.
Binudin-Lecocq also felt it was essential to let young readers customize the protagonist instead of illustrating a single character.
Readers can choose from four prototypes that roughly reflect white, black, Asian and Latino heritage. There are options to customize hair style and color, eye color and skin tone.