We’re The Same, We’re Different, and We All Belong follows the journey of a six-year-old as she explores the beauty and depth of human diversity, encouraging children to embrace and celebrate our differences. Why was this an important book for you to write?

I have a 6-year-old, and I am bringing her up in a world that sometimes seems so divided. I wanted to create a book with a universal message that could bring people together.

To help my daughter and other children learn to accept themselves and to believe in themselves. I also wanted to teach them how to be tolerant and how to be kind, and how to truly have empathy for others.

I want children to be able to appreciate people who are different from them in some way and to be able to see how similar they are too. To be able to realize that the difference you’re aware of is only ONE part of a person’s unique story.

We really are the same, we’re different, and we all belong!

If every child in a classroom read this book, the world would be a different place.

I’d been waiting for someone else to write a book like this AND with a funny, honest, imperfect main character… Eventually, I consulted educators and psychologists and used my years of kids’ TV writing experience, and I wrote it myself!

The book balances illustrations and text to convey emotions and deliver messages; could you shed light on how you and the illustrator collaborated to ensure the visuals accurately represented the diverse characters and themes?

I had a clear vision of how I wanted the text and the illustrations to work together and how I wanted these characters to look. I used every tool in my arsenal to bring this book to life. Tried so many options and, in the end, achieved this vision by using my own artistry, and software and collaborating with amazing creatives. I want every child who reads this book to see themselves reflected somehow, to find a place for themselves within it. We are the same, we’re different, and we really do all belong…

How did your personal experiences or observations influence the portrayal of parental figures in guiding children through issues related to identity and belonging?

1) I am Jamaican. I come from an island in the Caribbean where the official national motto is “Out of many one people”. Because of our history from hundreds of years ago, if you’re of African, Indian, Chinese, or European descent (or any combination of these), you are completely Jamaican. We are one. There is no issue or division based on ethnicity. To have that instilled in me early on as the norm meant that when I came abroad, it didn’t feel natural to see people sometimes divided because of the color of their skin or whatever else.

For the last two years of high school, I went to a boarding school in the UK where the students flew from 80 different countries to be there. It was eye-opening! Every casual assumption one has, every prejudice, everything got explored. It was there, with people from all cultures, languages, religions, races, histories, and politics, I learned that… we really are the same, we’re different, and we all belong!

2) As a parent now myself, I’ve realized that learning to embrace and celebrate a difference in someone else actually helps you to accept yourself when you are perceived to be different. What seems to be a kindness towards others is actually something that saves YOU!

Quote from the book:
“Being different doesn’t make someone weird,
it just makes them different.
And be nice to them because, to them, you are different too!
We may seem soooooooo different… but deep down,
we’re kind of the same.”

So, now, when you think someone else is perceiving you as different, it doesn’t mean something negative about you because it’s absolutely OK to be different. It’s OK to be unique. It doesn’t make you weird, it just makes you different.

I wrote this book, using the power of story and an irreverent lead character, to help children open their minds to people’s shared humanity. To give us, as parents, a form of words to give our children another way of seeing the situation that helps them to accept themselves just as they are and that allows them to tolerate and celebrate other people’s differences with kindness and empathy.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

Ha! Watch this space. I write social and emotional learning (SEL) children’s books that help parents and teachers nurture happy, mindful, resilient, and compassionate children that have the tools to live their best lives.

I am working on several books (all at various stages of development)… More books with Marnie (the funny, honest, perfectly imperfect, irreverent lead character from ‘We’re The Same, We’re Different and We All Belong’).

And… I have another picture book that’s being illustrated right now, coming out mid-2024. It’s about how you’re always connected to the people you love no matter where they are (it’s especially for the first day of school separation anxiety).

I’m grateful to be able to add to the lives of children and their families in whatever way I can.

I love what I do!

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