Kelechi Okafor

An athletic girl finds that strength comes in surprising forms in an uplifting story of confidence and kindness from British writer and popular social commentator Kelechi Okafor.

Kamara is super strong, and she loves that--it makes her feel fizzy and zappy! She wins at almost every competition. But lately she’s been hearing resentful words from her classmates, and she’s starting to doubt herself and the good feeling she gets from her physical ability. With sports day and the Big Race approaching, does Kamara have what it takes to reach the finish line? This picture book debut by author and UK podcast host Kelechi Okafor is an inspirational story aimed at helping children discover their power, champion themselves, have compassion for others, and be unapologetically secure in who they are. Packed full of heart, Strong Like Me opens important conversations around ability, intersectionality, race, and identity.

Kelechi Okafor is a British writer, TV personality, actor, and host of the award-winning podcast Say Your Mind. A force in challenging how we think about race and femininity, she has appeared on the BBC 3 show Work It, drawing on her experience as a fitness expert, and her writing is included in the anthologies It’s Not OK to Feel Blue (and other lies), edited by Scarlett Curtis, and Who’s Loving You: Love Stories by Women of Colour, edited by Sareeta Domingo. Kelechi Okafor lives in London.

Michaela Dias-Hayes is the author-illustrator of Color and Me, inspired by conversations with her son. She is also the illustrator of the Sunflower Sisters, written by Monika Singh Gangotra, which was nominated for a Kate Greenaway Medal and which took inspiration from her part-Jamaican heritage and her former long-term partner’s Indian family. She loves to create accurately portrayed Black and brown characters and place them in stories that explore and celebrate their heritage in an accessible way. Michaela Dias-Hayes lives in England.