Layla’s Happiness (available now) is a debut picture book from poet Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie and illustrator Ashleigh Corrin. Our Editor-at-Large Nadine Pinede spoke to Ekere and Ashleigh about their collaboration and creative process, and the deep-rooted power of joy.

NP: Congratulations on your first picture book! How did this come about?

MET: My husband, Dominique Sindayiganza, met Claudia [Zoe Bedrick] at a social gathering thrown by the artist Brigitte Bouquet and her wonderful husband. It came up that Claudia published children's books and my husband, said "My wife writes children's books!" I met up with Claudia and gave her three manuscripts. She was very encouraging, and she dug what I was doing. That was back in 2013 or 2014, so things took time.

AC: I quit my last job in December of 2016 because I thought, “I’m going to be a full-time illustrator!” I had to start working full-time again almost immediately because of other life events at the time. I thought: I’ll do what I can to get my work out there. I know I’m not going to be able to commit as much time as I wanted, but at least it will be out there. The last thing I did before I started working full-time was to submit my illustrations to Women Who Draw. By July of 2017, Claudia had reached out to me. Life is funny!

NP: Your first published illustration was also with Enchanted Lion Books, as a contributor to A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader, a collection on the joys of reading whose proceeds benefit local libraries.

AC: That’s right. In January of 2018, when I had already started on Layla, Claudia reached out and told me about another book they were doing. I had no idea that was going to be published by the end of the year! I did it to contribute and help, because I thought it was a cool project and something that would get me into the flow of working with them.

NP: November is Picture Book Month. Ekere, as a poet, what led you to write a picture book?

MET: I started writing children’s books because I have daughters, and I didn’t see books that reflected them. Thirteen years ago I was living in Belgium, and that heightened the lack of Black children’s books. In the US we also had a lack of Black children’s books, but since the 1960s, people like John Steptoe have been working to correct that imbalance. But in Belgium, I couldn’t find anything. So, that was frustrating. I ordered this beautiful book called My Feet are Laughing by Lisette Norman, and I just used to read that to my baby over and over and over. My kids have the same age difference as the main characters. Lisette Norman really got me through.

Ekere’s youngest daughter, greeting Layla!

NP: How was Layla born?

MET: When we returned to the United States, I decided I wanted to write children’s books. The impetus was there from the experience of living in Belgium. When I moved to the States 11 months after my daughter was born, I started writing these stories. Initially, what I was trying to do was to get down Afro-Cuban folklore and mythology. So I wrote some stories like that, which involved Layla. At some point I wrote Layla’s Happiness, and then I wrote another story about Layla and her community garden. Fast forward 7 or 8 years, Claudia read them and liked them. That doesn’t mean we didn’t have to edit! And then the process of finding the right illustrator took a long time.

I’d seen stats from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center saying only 29 percent of the children’s books about Black folks were actually written and/or illustrated by Black folks. Twenty-nine percent: I think that’s obscene. I know so many skilled Black writers and visual artists, and many of them have been clamoring decades for book deals. So if I had an opportunity to have a children's book about a Black girl published, I absolutely wanted a Black woman to illustrate it. My work for adults is overtly political, but this work is covertly political, and even that depends on who’s looking.

NP: Tell me more about finding Ashleigh and your collaboration.

MET: The synergy between Claudia, me, and Ashleigh was the biggest surprise of this process. I loved working on this book with them both. Apparently most publishers do not let writers have any say in what artists they will work with, but Claudia made it clear from the beginning that I was welcome to be part of the process of choosing the artist and giving feedback on the work they did. We chose Ashleigh together. And then Ashleigh and I talked on the phone, not just about the book, but about who we are and why we create and what we hope to do with the art we put into the world. Ashleigh hit it out of the park. I just stare at the pictures. It’s a work of art. Ashleigh brought Layla to life in such a way that makes me thankful.

AC: That makes me so happy to hear. I may still have Imposter Syndrome because sometimes I still wonder how people are receiving it.

NP: Can you say more about that feeling of being an “imposter”?

AC: Since this was my first children’s book project, I didn’t know what to expect. Actually, I didn’t know that I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve been illustrating for some time, but not for something like this. I started to fear that my style wasn’t going to be good enough. I started looking around to other children’s books and wondering if I should illustrate eyes a certain way, or hands, or arms. I almost started to step away from my own style, and that was something I struggled with. I think that came through in the first round of images I sent around to Claudia and Ekere, which weren’t necessarily what they were envisioning, because they weren’t me. I had to go through this process of reconnecting with myself to get Layla out. A deadline also got me there!

NP: What helped you reconnect with yourself?

AC: Once I sent over that first round, I talked to Claudia and I talked to Ekere. I appreciated that, because sometimes you don’t want to talk about the ways you’ve failed. Ekere told me that she carried one of the initial sketches around with her and that was just how she saw Layla, and I should go back to that place. So that was encouraging for me to trust my gut and trust what I already had, and that it was enough.

NP: What medium do you usually work in?

AC: I work digitally and use brushes to bring in texture. I like the flexibility of achieving a textured and layered feel that helps communicate energy and movement on the page.

NP: What advice would you give artists who’d like to become illustrators?

AC: Tap into your personal story and find value in your own insight and perspective on life and the art you’re making. This will help you define a unique identity within your work that will set you apart. Don’t be afraid to share your work, and keep creating in spite of any fear that arises.

NP: Ekere, how did your practice of poetry influence your writing of Layla?

MET: For me, being a poet is about the distillation of language and experience, and it's medicine. It's also a way of seeing the world and a form of listening. When I was writing this book, I had to see things from a child's perspective and write things in a child's voice. Poetry and my life as a mother were my ways into the work. My poetry tends to be filled with imagery, and that came through in the writing of Layla's Happiness.

NP: Who are the people mentioned in the book’s dedication?

MET: Those are my three daughters! The oldest ones read drafts of the manuscript and shared feedback with me way back when I started this story. In 2014, they were seven and nine. They’ve seen all the Layla stories. I would ask them, what do you think about this? They told me what they liked, and what was just “ok.”

AC: My grandmother, Eva Walker, was a community leader in Virginia. Grandma Eva encouraged others to follow their heart and fearlessly pursue their passions. She was a beautiful, intelligent and witty woman with a heart to serve others through her passions. She left her mark as an activist, entrepreneur, and model, and now has a park named after her in the town of Warrenton, in honor of her contributions to the community. She passed at the age of 48, but I’ve gotten to know her through numerous stories that people have shared with me over time. Like Layla, she found joy in her community and environment.

I also learned the importance of legacy from my grandma. I haven’t met one person who knew her who didn't have something positive to say. From this I’ve realized that life is just as much about what you leave behind as what you do. The seeds we sow can flourish for generations if we plant with positive intention. With this dedication, I wanted to pass along the same encouragement for anyone with a little hope and a dream. My mom encouraged the same and I've learned to take my passions seriously and to not be afraid to make something of them and share that with others. I now have a daughter whose name is Eva.

*L: Eva in her beauty shop which was built as an addition to their home in Warrenton. R: Eva at a photoshoot. (Photos c/o Piedmont Lifestyle)*

NP: What was the Inspiration for the cover art? I thought of it as an echo of Layla blowing on the “wish-flower” in the book, making a wish.

AC: I wanted to show a sense of joy and playfulness, an organic feel. I wanted Layla to be front and center. Claudia had mentioned that the community garden was a big part of Layla’s life, so I guess I was thinking florals and nature, so we could get a sense of the outdoors, and her in that environment but also outside of it too. It’s a book that takes place outdoors but in her mind, in her joy too. I grew up in the suburbs and we were always outside. I remember picking honeysuckles and berries with my neighbors and blowing wish-flowers. It felt like all the magic was outdoors, and I felt that with Layla too.

MET: I remember being a little kid picking dandelions and picking what we called wish-flowers to blow on them and make wishes. I have to tell you that I was thirty-something before I knew that the yellow dandelion and the wish-flower were the same. I didn’t know that!

Ashleigh wouldn’t know this, but I studied herbs for three years. I was an apprentice to Robin Rose Bennett, and every year we had to pick a flower (or allow a flower to pick us) that we would study. It became our ally, our plant ally. And the dandelion was mine. We didn’t talk about that, Ashleigh?

AC: No.

MET: Ashleigh really picked up on everything and we talked on the phone maybe only three times. But she got the vibe, and also had a sensitivity to understanding what Layla was living. I love how you say, Ashleigh, that it takes place in her mind but also in her joy. I think that’s very powerful.

I was actually worried about what would go on the cover. Claudia showed me some covers and there was one with Layla. I wondered, is anybody going to buy this book if this girl is on the cover? Let me be more specific: are white people going to buy this book with a Black child on the cover? Claudia didn’t answer that question by email. When I saw the cover of the book, that was the way she answered my question.

NP: You wrote a powerful essay about the outrage you experienced when you realized the full extent of the lack of diversity in children’s books, and its connection to the dehumanization of Black and Brown people. Did this influence your writing of Layla’s Happiness?

MET: Probably not, and probably definitely! It didn’t influence Layla, and it didn’t influence the story, but that outrage is the reason the story was written. It completely influenced the reasons that the book exists, but not the actual story. If I were to write stories thinking “and now they’re going to know we’re human,” that would be a waste of energy.

NP: A recent review praised Layla for being “a brown-skinned girl, whose story here is not one defined by strife or struggle, as we so often see in books with characters of color.” As you did in your essay, the reviewer referenced The Apartheid of Children’s Literature by Christopher Myers. Does Layla’s story help challenge some of the limiting tropes that still remain in children’s literature?

MET: I write poetry, and I remember after a reading at Lehman College, one of the people got up and said, “what you did was amazing. You wrote a counternarrative,” and I was like, 'Yo, I don’t know what a counternarrative is, but I was being true to the story I wanted to tell.' I don’t set out generally to write any particular thing, except what is true to me at that time and in that space. So Layla is a child who is enjoying life, and that’s that. I wasn’t thinking about not writing a particular type of story.

Of course hardship will come and difficulty will come, because that’s life. This little girl happens to not be faced with that at this particular period. She’s really, really fortunate in that way. If Layla were to grow up, and you saw her at 14, she’d be dealing with something. It’s highly possible that at eight, she’d be dealing with something. Life, and Black life in particular, is precarious. But this is not that. This is who Layla is at seven: a little girl who is enjoying life with her mother and her father in their house. I see children like that all the time.

NP: What drew you to illustrate a children’s book, and what was it like to bring Ekere’s words to life?

AC: I have always appreciated children’s books for the positive messages, playful imagery and sense of nostalgia that they offer. I’ve felt that my style and intention in my work aligns with the spirit of children's books, and how they allow us to reconnect with the innocent, whimsical nature of our inner child. I saw a bit of myself in Layla and felt great pride to assist Ekere in celebrating a young Black girl and her expression of happiness and joy. These moments she mentions are small yet her acknowledgment of them is powerfully significant, and I hoped this would visually shine on each page.

NP: The colors and energy of your illustrations feel like a window into Layla’s heart and mind. What influenced the choices you made?

AC: My influences were drawn from my own childhood. I grew up playing outdoors and Layla’s experiences reminded me of the dirt and joy of these moments. Ekere would also send me photos of her children to provide a child’s perspective of “play” and that was very helpful. We also talked together about her childhood.

I’m a graphic designer (by day) and one thing I wanted to ensure was a flow that felt good for readers while moving through the book. I considered movement, perspective, and distance from page to page, and how we move in and out of moments that Layla recalls. Because the words are a mix of metaphors and real experiences, it made my intentions with movement a bit easier because I could move within different spaces, whether that’s in the garden, or with the moon in the night sky.

Final illustrations, with the early sketches that inspired them.

NP: What was the process of creating Layla’s world? Within an urban setting, it celebrates nature, the community garden, and the farmers’ market.

AC: I did struggle a bit because I was thinking that my world is a suburb in Virginia, but Ekere’s world is in New York. When I think “New York,” I see buildings and concrete. Then I went to New York to visit a friend, and driving home in an Uber, I passed a community garden! Claudia and Ekere gathered some reference illustrations and a YouTube video. I studied these different things to get a sense of what it feels like, and to hear New Yorkers talk about their community garden, how they enjoy it, and how they interact with it. That’s how it all started to become more real, to make more sense.

NP: I would never have guessed your introduction was through an Uber ride. I also love the way Layla is watching a plant grow.

AC: Ekere inspired me for that. She said Layla doesn’t mind getting a little dirty. I asked how far is she from the ground? Is she down in it or does she have all this protective stuff on?

MET: For me, community gardens were a big part of my daughters’ lives because I was desperate to be in nature, so we would go to community gardens. I was working on a project on herbalists in the African diaspora, so I spent a lot of time in community gardens. And then I was a farmers’ market manager for a year or so.

NP: Another part of the natural world is the night. Can you talk about how the night in your book is something good, something gentle?

MET: That’s who Layla is. She’s a reflective and thoughtful person. Of course you can be reflective and thoughtful in the day, but night is a different time. It’s more introspective to me. It’s an intimate space, it’s quieter. And it just rings true to who she is. Some people say that night is more the ancestors’ time. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard that. There’s something special about the night, and I guess also there’s the connection with her name, which means “night beauty.”

NP: One image that illustrates this well is Layla in a tent with her mother, who is reading poetry to her.

MET: That’s another thing that Ashleigh did that’s hard to express. You have words, and the words form the story, but the story was only half told. I was sitting with these words, and Ashleigh brought them to life in a whole other way. So when I saw that image, it was really surprising to me.

NP: How did that image come to you?

AC: I had something else in the beginning, that we ended up changing. One was where her mom was kind of dressed up, and she was reciting a poem, and they were dressed up together in Layla’s room. But after talking through it with Claudia and Ekere, being dressed up wasn’t necessarily the right feeling. I guess I was trying to make it theatrical, and even though that’s also playful, I decided I wanted it more homey and natural. I was thinking of how I made tents when I was a kid. And of having a moment with your mom, when you make a tent together, where your mom supports your imagination and creativity.

NP: Are there other images that struck you this way?

MET: There is just so much beauty in this book. I can get lost in many of the images. It's hard to choose one…but the image of the children finding sand-dollars is so lovely. It moves me. I sent a mini galley of the book to Troy Johnson, who runs the African American Literature Book Club, and he sent me back a package. In the package was a thank you note and a sand dollar, so I think the image moved him too.

NP: The image and metaphor of the sea “reaching into her pocket” to offer a sand dollar is stunning. This kind of beauty is also a source of joy.

MET: I didn’t tell Troy to look at that particular image, I just inscribed the galley to him, and he sent back a real sand dollar. It speaks to the power of that image.

NP: Can you say more about Juan and his family? It’s a real friendship between a boy and girl, across cultural and racial lines.

MET: When I was growing up, my best friends were boys and girls. It’s not unusual to me, but I realize now that women don’t have men who are best friends. You know New York really is a huge influence in this book, we never name it, but it’s all New York. New York is full of Black folks and Puerto Rican folks and Dominican folks, and we’re often side by side. Those alliances and friendships and relationships are just normal for me.

NP: Can you talk about the image of Juan’s parents dancing salsa under the magnolia tree?

AC: At first when I did that, Layla had her eyes closed. She was in the moment, kind of grooving. I showed it to my husband and he said, I feel like she should be looking up at them. When you’re a kid, you’re inspired and in awe of adults when they’re enjoying themselves and having fun, in that moment of sharing joy.

NP: What would you like readers to take away after finishing your book?

MET: I would really be happy if the children and the adults would come away with a better sense of what brings happiness to them so they can cultivate that in their own lives. That’s really important to me.

AC: I just want people to find joy in the littlest things because that’s the only way to find our sense of contentment in life, to help us get through life. We have an environment and resources that are immediate to us, and sometimes that’s where we have to find happiness, instead of looking too far forward or looking back. We have everything we need right now. This book celebrates that.

Ekere, I love that you wrote about a little Black girl doing this herself and for herself. And I needed this for me, because I never saw anything that reflected my sense of truth when I was growing up. Even as an artist, I didn’t know what I was “supposed” to illustrate. Do I have to illustrate a certain thing for certain people to connect, or even to make money? Do I need to shift certain things? I’m just glad that you spoke your truth through this and didn’t bend to anything else.

NP: My final question is the one that opens and closes your book: What is happiness for you?

AC: I feel like it’s redefining itself for me, because now I have a daughter…

Eva’s smile when she wakes up in the morning. Watching her explore and grow.

Moments giggling with my husband in the midst of the craziness and joy of raising a newborn!

Dancing! I love dancing.

Spending time with our families.

MET: What brings me happiness? Hearing my daughters’ laugh, being out picking apples, walking in the forest and seeing fall colors, going to the beach, holding hands with my honey-bunny, dancing. It’s honestly simple things.

Layla’s Happiness is what we named the book, but it’s really a book about joy. I like that Ashleigh used the word joy earlier. It’s about the things that are not fleeting. It’s about the things that will bring you the peace that you need within. What we really want to get at is joy, peace, contentment.

And obviously, seeing Layla on the front cover of a book. I want people to see that this little Brown girl, this little Black child, is here. She’s here!

A Conversation With the Creators Behind "Layla's Happiness"