Shani Jones is an educator, community event coordinator/facilitator, and an author of children's books. Born in Toronto, she is a single mother of two teenagers and a 3-year-old preschooler. Shani knows all too well the difficulties in finding Afro-Canadian representation in children's books. Through her many outreach programs, Shani has championed the inclusion and representation of Afro-Canadian characters in the books she reads in her literacy/tutoring programs and decided to do something about it. Shani uses her fond childhood memories of growing up in Belize and the culture of Grenada, to help shape the imagination through the images seen in her books. With the creation of the titles Maya's Hat, Watch Me Grow: Preschool Edition, Watch Me Grow: The Lil' Gardener Edition, a collection of correlating activity books, and future upcoming titles. Shani has started to carve her name in the presence of other great children's book authors. Her hope is that her books make an impact on young children around the world promoting love, creativity, and positive messaging while representing her culture through diversity and healthy images that look like her.