Interview with NoNieqa Ramos: Author of YOUR MAMA

We have a special guest on the blog today. Below you will find an exclusive interview with incredible author NoNieqa Ramos. After authoring multiple YA books, she has now debuted an amazing, and hilarious, new picture book, YOUR MAMA, which we discuss below.

This book is so exciting, just ask Kwame Alexander who can’t get enough as well. Watch the video below and join the parade of authors, teachers, and caregivers who feel YOUR MAMA is a must have.

Book Summary

Yo’ mama so sweet, she could be a bakery. She dresses so fine, she could have a clothing line. And, even when you mess up, she’s so forgiving, she lets you keep on living. Heartwarming and richly imagined, Your Mama twists an old joke into a point of pride that honors the love, hard work, and dedication of mamas everywhere.

Interview with NoNieqa Ramos 

We can’t wait to hear about your new picture book YOUR MAMA. But first, can you introduce yourself to our Biracial Bookworms audience?

I am a proud mama of a biracial bookworm family! My soon-to-be thirteen-year-old Jandilee is an author and illustrator in-progress. They are responsible for starting the first Pride month at their middle school! Jandi highly recommends everyone watch SHE-RA and the PRINCESSES of POWER and everyone read A.J. Sass’s middle grade book about ice skating and identity, ANA on the EDGE. My eight-year-old Langston, who could light up Times Square with his smile and energy, likes soccer and coding. He helped me come up with my Must-Have reading list below.

Your picture book, YOUR MAMA, is truly a revolutionary concept. What audience did you want to feel seen by reading your book?

YOUR MAMA deserves a revolution! A lovely new mama sent me a video in which she read to her precious baby girl. In the video she reads the line, “Your Mama so strong…” and she interjects, “Yes, that’s me.”  I want every mama who reads my book to feel seen and revered through the Latinx lens of my storytelling. In particular, I want Latinx and Black mamas and single mamas, historically rendered invisible or insignificant in literature and the media, to feel seen, respected, and adored.

I hope when all mamas and caregivers and their children read YOUR MAMA together, it’s like turning the pages of a photo album in which they revel in their own golden memories and how much they love each other.

I loved how you used the classic Your Mama joke to tell this lovely story. Why was it important to you to strike a balance with comedy and family love throughout the story? 

Isn’t parenting hilarious? Can you think of any other time you have straight up looked into someone’s eyes while they were pooping and had a full out conversation? Some of my best talks with my Lango have been when he was on the potty, one of the rare times he isn’t climbing the walls like Spider Man.

“Sometimes your mama is cray cray…” Isn’t parenting sometimes frustrating? I joke my phone has an invisible button on it that triggers my children and pets every time I answer it. The minute I say, “Hello, how–” is the time when bickering flares, birds escape from their cage, somebody decides to throw objects into the fan that become projectiles. Etc. 

It’s so important to take a minute, take a breath, and laugh together. “… But she’s gonna be O.K…” Take care of you, mamas and caregivers! Parenting is a love story and a comedy!

The illustrations in your book are gorgeous. Obviously fashion was a big conversation in your collaboration with Jacqueline Alcántara. Why did you feel strongly about the fashion choices for your characters?

Every illustrator-author collaboration is different. Jackie and I did not converse until the end of her illustrating process! The fashion she created is  gorgeous and dynamic–just like the mama in the book! The hard work of being a caregiver isn’t always glamorous. Any one else been accoutried in baby milk vomit down their back? But–look at the way the little girl in the book looks at her mama. The time you spend with your kids always makes you a supa star in their eyes. 

I also loved that the mama didn’t need a so-called special occasion to dictate when she dressed up. Mamas make everything special. An ordinary day is extraordinary with Mama magic.  Jacqueline Alcántara is a genius.

Which are your favorite illustrations?

One of my fave illustrations is the Mama going to Parent Night in the radiant titian gown, her stilettos a pedestal for her magnificence. “No one can fill her high heel shoes.” 

Another is when the mama walks a red carpet with her child to check out library books.  That’s 100 percent me, except I usually have three-four bags of books at a time. My Langston and I like to watch the library receipt roll from the register onto the floor. “Plus you’re both library VIPs, ‘cause she knows errything about errything. She’s your A-Team.”

Are there any Easter eggs in your book?

Be on the look out for Jackie’s doggo who graces several of the illustrations!

On pg. 3 there was a reference to living in an apartment which is rare to see in children’s books. How can caregivers use this reference to discuss socio economic issues with young readers? 

Normalizing that some people live in houses and some in apartments is important.

Caregivers can talk to their Littles about setting and ask children where they think the little girl and her mama live. After listening to guesses, they can disclose that she lives in an apartment and discuss similarities and differences between apartments and houses. Both child and caregiver can work on a sketch of an apartment and a house together, embellishing each other’s work. Perhaps, caregivers can share personal experiences of when they lived in a different type of residence than the one in which they currently reside.

I love that your picture book is in rhythmic verse. As a reading specialist, this style is wonderful for children who struggle with reading. What made you decide to write YOUR MAMA in this particular writing style? 

Thank you, Bethany! The rhythmic verse is a perfect vehicle for capturing the spirit, sass,  and humor of the narrative. The repetition makes the story accessible to young readers and invites them to use prior knowledge and make text connections on each page. The tone encourages the reader to be playful while they read aloud!

As a teacher yourself, what advice do you have for using your book in the upper elementary classrooms?

Picture books are for everyone! Some uses for YOUR MAMA in the upper elementary classroom include discussion of the use of repetition, metaphor, and imagery and tone and humor. Educators can do a writing workshop on main ideas and details or thesis statements and supporting paragraphs.

In a creative writing exercise, children can write about their own caregivers and how they are special. Teachers can discuss how the visual and narrative arc of the story work in tandem.

Your book is published by Kwame Alexander’s imprint VERSIFY. What was the best part of working with such an inclusive group in children’s publishing?  

I’m honored to advance Versify’s mission to “change the world one book at a time” with literary luminaries like Jacqueline Alcántara, Juana Medina, Aimee Lucido, Raúl the Third, and Lamar Giles! Having Newbery award-winning Kwame Alexander and editors Erika Turner and Weslie Turner work with me on both YOUR MAMA and  BEAUTY WOKE (illustrated by Paola Escobar, February 15th, 2022), was a dream. 

What I like best is that we are a community of diverse kid lit creators inspiring kids to shape the world they deserve.

You have described yourself as a “literary activist” and you are among many others who are using picture books to help cultivate a generation of young activists. What advice would you give kids who want to speak up for issues they care about? 

For me it’s less about dispensing advice and more about being a guide and facilitator.

I thank the child for wanting to speak up and make change.  Next, I listen, validate, and ask questions. I encourage them to explain the issue and how they feel about it so I can understand their perspective. I tell them how proud I am of them.  As an an educator, it’s my job to empower kids who want to speak up about problems and come up with solutions.  Together, we brainstorm a plan and research  resources. Resources include other trusted adults who can support the child. I share the acclaimed picture book NO VOICE TOO SMALL: FOURTEEN YOUNG AMERICANS MAKING HISTORY, edited and illustrated by Jeanette Bradley, and edited by Linsday H. Metcalf and Keila V. Dawson.

The world is our classroom! I would tell the child we take turns being students and teachers, always learning from each other.

If you had one to give one reason why writing is important to you, what would it be? 

One reason why writing is important to me is to heal adults who never saw themselves represented in books and to nurture and empower children.

I have to interject, that the other reason is for kiddos to have fun! Even if a kid has a lot of challenges, their whole future can be changed if they find a book they love and loves them back.

Besides your own book, what are some of your other favorite MUST HAVE picture books?

That’s such a difficult question because I know so many talented children’s book creators!!

Here are just a very few MUST HAVES my Langston and I recommend:

Itty Bitties:

Nadia Solomon’s GOODNIGHT GANESHA

Sophie Beer’s LOVE MAKES A FAMILY

Alexandra Alessandri’s  ISABEL AND HER COLORES GO TO SCHOOL

Kira Bigwood’s SECRET SECRET AGENT GUY

Abi Cushman’s ANIMALS GO VROOM!

Littles:

Joanna Ho’s EYES THAT KISS AT THE CORNERS

Brittany J. Thurman’s FLY

Anitra Schulte’s DANCING with DADDY

Gloria Amescua’s NEW CHILD OF THE FLOWER-SONG PEOPLE: LUZ JIMÉNEZ, DAUGHTER OF THE NAHUA

Kirsten Larson’s A TRUE WONDER: THE COMIC BOOK HERO WHO CHANGED EVERYTHING

Check out LAS MUSAS BOOKS, THE SOARING 20’s, and PB TROUPE 21 for more fabulous books for your Littles, tweens, and teens! 

Are you working on any future projects that you want to share with our readers?

I would love to share my upcoming picture book HAIR STORY illustrated by Keisha Morris and published by Lerner Books, September 7th 2021.  With rhythmic, rhyming verse, my picture book follows two girls—one non-Black Puerto Rican, one Black—as they discover the stories their hair can tell. 

Preciosa has hair that won’t stay straight, won’t be confined. Rudine’s hair resists rollers, flat irons, and rules. Together, the girls play hair salon! They take inspiration from their moms, their neighbors, their ancestors, and cultural icons. They discover that their hair holds roots of the past and threads of the future.

Please support Keisha and my book by requesting it at your library, preordering at any bookstore, and adding on Goodreads today! Check out the audio book version, too.

We writers are like small businesses. Your help makes a huge difference!

What is the best way people can touch base with you and support you on social media? 

I have a contact form on my website if readers would like to send me a letter or if educators would like to connect for school visits.

Fun fact, if an educator buys a class room set of books, I do them for free! If you’d like to connect via social media, I’m on Twitter and Instagram. I look forward to hearing from you!

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