Dorothee Chabas visited Support for Families last November. She is the author of a new series, Fairy Tales of the City. She takes a classical fairy tale and updates it with assistive technology and current values. Her first and current children’s book is: The Princess and the Pea in San Francisco. It is fun to note local references and landmarks throughout her book. Dorothee Chabas does the writing and illustrations. The themes woven through this book are inclusiveness and disability. The focal ages for the story are ages 3-10 years. It begs to be read aloud, and I feel the reader and the listeners will enjoy the story and illustrations. This wonderful princess rides into the story in the rain in her wheelchair. The wheelchair is not mentioned in the story. The reader will be amused by the 21st century version of the pea. I thoroughly enjoyed this new kingdom of San Francisco, and I think you will too. We will be reading more books of this series soon.
I want to give you some background about the author. Dorothee Chabas is a neurologist who cares for adults and children representing many types of disability. She learned to be a painter and writer. This led to her current career as children’s book author and illustrator. She is delightful. If you’d like to learn more about her website: www.dorotheechabas.com. You will also find more information about her book and the series to follow at: www.FairyTalesOfTheCity.com.
Elaine Butler, Librarian
