See how this Air Force veteran found new ways to inspire future pilots

When Air Force navigator veteran Graciela Tiscareno-Sato realized there were so few kids books written by female veterans she knew there was only one solution: She had to write one herself. 

The character Captain Mama from Tiscareno-Sato's book "Good Night Captain Mama" was born the first night Tiscareno-Sato's son saw her in her flight suit. In preparation for Veteran's Day at her son's preschool, Tiscareno-Sato was checking the patches on her uniform and shining her boots when her son took notice. 

Tiscareno-Sato did some research looking for kids books written by female veterans — very few existed and none existed in more than one language. 

"I realized this is not even a thing that we do," she said. "You can grow up as a child and unless you know a woman who served you might never see the imagery of women who served. You're not seeing it in school or in books."

"It's in two languages, we teach aviation vocabulary, and I get to tell my story of flying for the Air Force and how much I loved it," she said. "I get to inspire kids to think about technical careers. It's very much an educational book series."

This isn't the only way that Tiscareno-Sato's series is innovative. She also created a way for remote classrooms to experience the book in ways they wouldn't have been able to otherwise. 

"In addition to innovating the genre intersection, I created virtual author visit packages," she said. "So now that teacher that lives in the middle of nowhere can download the class and it's 60 minutes of everything she and her kids would experience in the classroom if I were there — in both English and Spanish."

"It's the innovation that matters to me," Tiscareno-Sato added. "What can I do to tell this story in new ways, reach more people, and excite more kids."

To access virtual author visit content and learn more about the Captain Mama series click here.