About Griot Moon

I write picture books for children who carry many homes inside them. I am an anthropologist by training — after two decades in the academy studying West African oral traditions, I came back to the villages of my ancestors to do the work that first drew me to the field: sitting at the feet of elders, listening to the stories they pass down without anyone calling them lessons.

In West Africa, keeping those stories belongs to the griot: the storyteller, praise-singer, and keeper of a village’s memory. Griot Moon is my way of carrying a small ember from that fire to your family’s bedtime — the African Heritage Tales bring beloved folktales like The Yam and the Egg, The Mighty Fist, and Ubuntu to a new generation; the Yama Stories follow a curious little girl learning her place in the world; and the Mael Trilogy tells of a young chief learning what it means to lead.

The children around the fire in these books come from everywhere, because that is who these stories are for. African heritage is the root; every curious child is the welcome guest. A portion of proceeds from every book supports the SEN Yakaar Foundation, bringing books and learning resources to children across the West African diaspora.

My hope is simple: that a story you read tonight becomes a story your child tells someday.