ESI THE BRAVE

A bold and bright picture book about being brave when you're scared in a new, overwhelming environment.

Esi is a brave Ghanaian girl who is not afraid of anything. Monsters and ghosts should be scared of her! When she sets off for the annual Kakamotobi Festival with her parents, she's confident she'll be fine. Her mother warns that there's going to be loud music and scary masks and a very big crowd, but Esi's unconcerned. She's not afraid of anything. But when they get to the festival and her parents suddenly disappear in a crowd of terrifying monster masks, Esi realizes that to save her parents, she'll have to be the bravest she's ever been. With detail-packed illustrations and a text begging to be read aloud, this is the perfect story about finding your inner strength to be brave. Bernard K. Mensah is a children's book author by night and a software engineering manager by day. He also helped co-found #BlackCreatorsInKidlit, to increase Black representation in publishing, and HabermanNerds, to nurture and promote African literature and storytelling. He is Ghanaian and lives in the UK with his two rambunctious boys. Raissa Figueroa is the illustrator of several picture books, including Coretta Scott King Honor Award recipient We Wait for the Sun by Katie McCabe & Dovey Roundtree, and the Oona picture book series by Kelly DiPucchio. She lives outside of San Diego.