Martinique Mims is a slam poet and children’s book author who writes while looking through the lens of history and the triumphs and challenges people face, especially communities of color and the transformative times we are currently living in. Her goal is to uplift children through her stories and encourage them to be who they are and to realize they are somebody and shouldn’t think less than.

Her stories have a purpose: to help young people build up self-esteem, to encourage them to believe in themselves even if they may feel different, and to find joy within themselves. She wants her books to be a great escape, a place for children to imagine and believe anything is possible.

“It doesn’t matter how simple or complex, a good story offers a sense of joy. A good story can make us laugh or cry by giving us a character we want to care about,” Martinique shares.

When she is not busy writing inspiring and self-empowering books for children, Martinique likes to go to local ice cream shops or smoothie cafe’s and try all kinds of flavors. She enjoys dancing, singing, and finding new styles for her natural hair (which she loves). She spends downtime with her family!—watching good movies and eating good food. This is her debut children’s book.