12jun12:00 pm12:20 pm12:00 pm - 12:20 pm Malaika’s SurpriseWith Nadia L. Hohn
Event Details
Malaika’s SurpriseNadia L. Hohn It’s summertime, and Malaika and Adèle are enjoying playing carnival
Event Details

Malaika’s Surprise
Nadia L. Hohn
It’s summertime, and Malaika and Adèle are enjoying playing carnival in their bright costumes, dancing and laughing in the sunshine. But when Mummy announces that they will soon have a new baby brother or sister, Malaika is unsure how to feel about another change in her family. Will Mummy forget about me?
Back at school, Malaika is excited to see her teacher and classmates, and makes friends with a new girl who has recently arrived from a faraway country, just like Malaika. Then on her birthday, a surprise arrives to remind Malaika of the importance of family, and the story ends with a celebration of her family’s love.
Speakers for this event
-
Nadia L. Hohn
Nadia L. Hohn
Nadia L. Hohn, B.A. (Hon.), B.Ed., M.Ed., M.F.A. is a multilingual, award-winning author of several books for young people, including Getting Us to Grandma’s (Groundwood Books, 2024), A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice (Owlkids, 2019), Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter (HarperKids, 2018), and the Malaika series. Her first picture book, Malaika’s Costume (Groundwood Books, 2016) was the 2021 TD Grade One Book Giveaway and featured as a float in the 117th Original Santa Claus Parade. Nadia had two books released in 2023: Malaika, Carnival Queen, her fourth book in the Malaika series on May 2 and her edited anthology, The Antiracist Kitchen: 21 Stories (and Recipes) on September 12. Nadia’s latest book Patty Dreams (Owlkids, 2025) was nominated for a 2026 Blue Spruce Award (Forest of Reading). Her twelfth book, STOP ANTIBLACK RACISM: 8 Ways to Act Now, will be released on October 13, 2026. Nadia is an “artivist” who wants to make sure that all young people see themselves in books. She has presented all over the world, most recently in Ireland. Nadia’s semi-autobiographical play Wheel and Turn premiered at the 2025 Windsor Fringe Festival. When she’s not lost in a story or concocting a tasty vegetarian dish, she is likely spending time in music and the arts or daydreaming about her next adventure. Nadia is a music teacher and librarian in an elementary school and creative writing instructor at post-secondary institutions in Toronto where she also lives.