{"id":1618,"date":"2022-06-07T03:07:28","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T07:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/press-kit\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T23:11:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T03:11:22","slug":"press-kit","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/press-kit\/","title":{"rendered":"About Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Everyone has a story to tell.<\/p>\nRising Stars Interview<\/a> Nov 16, 2020<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Short Bio<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Melissa H. Mwai is a children’s author and illustrator. She’s written five nonfiction books including I Can Make a Friend<\/span> <\/strong>(Paw Prints, ’25), A Puerto Rican Childhood<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> (DK, ’24), and Stacey Abrams<\/a><\/strong> (Nat Geo Kids, ’22). Melissa has published poetry and illustrations in Gnomes and Ungnomes: Poems of Hidden Creatures<\/a> <\/strong>(Writers’ Loft Press, ’23). As a neurodiverse Afro-Latina herself, Melissa is thrilled that her books help ethnically and neurodiverse kids learn more deeply about their world. She is represented by Jacqui Lipton<\/a> at The Tobias Literary Agency. She’s a registered voter who lives with her husband, two kids, and bunny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long Bio<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Melissa H. Mwai (she\/her) is a children\u2019s author and illustrator. Her newest book, I Can Make a Friend<\/a><\/strong> is all about real-world examples of positive friendships. A Puerto Rican Childhood<\/strong><\/a>,<\/em> Harlem Renaissance<\/strong><\/a>, and History of Jazz<\/strong><\/a> were published as part of DK\u2019s 2024 Super Readers series. She\u2019s also published Stacey Abrams<\/strong><\/a> in 2022 with Nat Geo Kids. Melissa has contributed several poems and illustrations to Gnomes and Ungnomes: Poems of Hidden Creatures<\/a> <\/strong>published in 2023 by the Writers\u2019 Loft Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She uses the initial \u201cH\u201d in her name to honor her family name, Hern\u00e1ndez, representing her Afro-Puerto Rican culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melissa is a former middle school English teacher and worked in Education Assessment. She has a M.S. in Library Science, a B.A. in English\/Creative Writing, and teaches preschoolers at Sunday School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is represented by Jacqui Lipton<\/a> at The Tobias Literary Agency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A New York native, Melissa now lives in Maryland with her spouse, two kids, and rabbit named Sailor. Melissa and Sailor hang out while she creates new things for kids. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Name Pronunciation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Mwai rhymes with WHY. My last name is from Kenya.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Interviews & Articles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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New Book Network (NBN) Interview<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
The Mid-Career GPS Podcast Interview (Episode 288)<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Harnessing the History of the Harlem Renaissance<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
The Mysterious World of Work-for-Hire Early Readers<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Research Gems (Story Storm 2024)<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Legit Kidlit Draw-Off (Ep 139)<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
KidLit 411 Interview<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Rising Stars Interview<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Short Bio Melissa H. Mwai is a children’s author and illustrator. She’s written five nonfiction books including I Can Make a Friend (Paw Prints, ’25), A Puerto Rican Childhood (DK, ’24), and Stacey Abrams (Nat Geo Kids, ’22). Melissa has published poetry and illustrations in Gnomes and Ungnomes: Poems of Hidden Creatures (Writers’ Loft Press, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1618","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1627,"url":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/","url_meta":{"origin":1618,"position":0},"title":"My Books","author":"Melissa Mwai","date":"June 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"My children's books are at Bookshop.org, Amazon, or major shops. Request them from a local bookstore or library! PREORDER MY NEW RELEASE About National Geographic Kids Encyclopedia of African American History and Culture National Geographic Kids Encyclopedia of African American History and Culture is an exciting new edition to NGK\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AACE-Cover.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2229,"url":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/for-teachers\/school-visits\/","url_meta":{"origin":1618,"position":1},"title":"School Visits","author":"Melissa Mwai","date":"November 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Passionate about student learning Sharing a love of reading, writing, and creating art with school-aged kids! For World Read Aloud Day (#WRAD) virtual visits fill out this form to schedule a free ~15min visit with me! In-Person Class Visits** 45-min in-person class visit is $225. Includes: a read-aloud, writing activity,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Website banner with the name Melissa H. Mwai. The subtitle reads Children's Author, Artist, Educator. Illustrations with stylized rainbow arches ending with pen nibs.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Author-Website-Banner-2026-2.png?fit=1200%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Author-Website-Banner-2026-2.png?fit=1200%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Author-Website-Banner-2026-2.png?fit=1200%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Author-Website-Banner-2026-2.png?fit=1200%2C400&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Author-Website-Banner-2026-2.png?fit=1200%2C400&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1698,"url":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/for-kids\/comics-for-kids\/","url_meta":{"origin":1618,"position":2},"title":"Comics for Kids","author":"Melissa Mwai","date":"June 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes I draw comics. Comics can be about anything. They are stories in bite-sized panels. Dig in or draw some yourself!","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/untitled_artwork-3-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/untitled_artwork-3-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/untitled_artwork-3-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/untitled_artwork-3-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/untitled_artwork-3-2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/untitled_artwork-3-2.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1618"}],"version-history":[{"count":46,"href":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2389,"href":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1618\/revisions\/2389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}