We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adiba Nelson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adiba below.
Adiba, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
All of my children’s books are the most meaningful projects I work on.
When my daughter was 2 years old I couldn’t find a book that represented *her* – Black, Latin, disabled, girl. It just didn’t exist and I felt that was just ridiculous. From my work as a school social worker and child/family social worker, I knew that a child’s self esteem and understanding of their value and place in the world is boosted by seeing themselves represented in the world around them. And my child was being denied that opportunity.
Not on my watch.
So, I decided to write and then self-publish my first children’s book, “Meet ClaraBelle Blue”, so that she (and children like her) could see themselves in the world around them. Why did I self-publish? Because after querying numerous agents and publishers who said “no”, one particular agent told me it was too niche, and that the world wasn’t ready for a book like mine yet.
In 2011.
Bull.
My response: “my child is here NOW. We don’t have time to wait for the world to be ready to *see* her”. And I did it myself.
After publishing that book I made it my mission to create children’s books where the lead character will always have a visible disability (of some sort), and their disability may or may not have anything to do with the story, but they will carry the story regardless. Kiddos with disabilities are kids first – and deserve equal representation in the stories of their childhood.
Because of this, my next book “Oshun and Me: A Story of Love And Braids” (available for pre-order) has a disabled AfroLatin girl leading the story, and “Hazel’s Best Day” (available 2025/2026) has sweet Hazel Jones, a Black disabled girl attending her very first disability pride parade. Visibility and representation of children that live in the intersection will always be my life’s purpose and passion.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
see previous answer
However, to answer the question “what are you most proud of”, I am most proud that my self published book is in two languages and in classrooms, homes and hospitals in approximately 20 countries in the world. Everywhere from New Zealand to Jordan to Ghana to Canada. That’s amazing to me.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me the most rewarding part of my work is doing storytime with kiddos and seeing them understand what true inclusion looks like. And seeing the disabled kids in the audience light up with excitement at seeing someone like them in a story. It’s what (and who) I do this work for.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal is to have diverse children’s books in as many countries, classrooms, libraries and homes as possible. The more we normalize disability in children’s literature the more we can normalize it in the world. It’s the beginning of bringing the concept of “humanity” to children.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdibaNelsonWriter
Image Credits
photo of me: Kathleen Dreier Photography
cover of Ain’t That A Mother: Caroline King Photography