Imani's Moon

Summary of Book

A delightful mix of folklore and fantasy follows Little Imani as she works up the courage and confidence in herself to achieve big things.

Little Imani is the smallest one in her village. The other children make fun of her and tell her she's too tiny, that she's an ant, that a meerkat might stomp her, and that she'll never amount to anything. Imani begins to believe them.

At bedtime, Imani's mama tells her traditional Maasai stories about the moon goddess Olapa and Anansi the spider. They accomplished the impossible. Imani's mama tells her that she is the one who needs to believe if she wants to reach new heights. So Imani sets out to touch the moon.

An unforgettable story about the power of believing in ourselves that is sure to inspire young readers to reach for their own moons.

Author Biography

JaNay Brown-Wood is an early childhood professor and the author of several books for children, including Imani's Moon and Grandma's Tiny House. She also contributed to the poetry anthology Thanku: Poems of Gratitude. Much of JaNay's work is intended to celebrate casual diversity, primarily featuring black characters. JaNay lives in California.

Illustrator Biography

Hazel Mitchell is the author and illustrator of Toby from Candlewick Press. She is also the illustrator of Imani's Moon (Charlesbridge), One Word Pearl (Charlesbridge), Animally (Kane Miller), Where Do Fairies Go When It Snows? (Down East) amongst others.

Before becoming a children's book creator Hazel served for several years in the British Royal Navy before working as a designer and commercial illustrator in England (her home country) and USA. She attended art college in Great Britain close to her birthplace of Scarborough, Yorkshire.

Now she lives in Maine and works from her home studio. She still misses fish, chips and mushy peas, but is learning to love lobster. She has two poodles, Toby and Lucy, plus a cat called Sleep.