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October marks Black History Month in the UK, and this year’s theme, ‘Honouring our Communities’, feels close to home. Community is at the heart of N Family Club and this year, we’re celebrating it through literacy. Stories are so often where young children first meet the wider world, help them to understand who they are, where they come from, is and where they first see themselves reflected back.
We sat down with Laura Henry-Allain MBE, creator of JoJo & Gran Gran and the Maya and Marley series. With more than 40 years in early years, Laura writes with children firmly in mind. Here, Laura shares the stories that shaped her childhood, what community means to her, and how families can use books to talk about identity and belonging.
Can you tell us a little about your own childhood and upbringing?
My parents were part of the Windrush generation, and when they arrived in London they settled in Paddington, where many St Lucian migrants lived. We then moved to the North Kensington area.
My primary school was small and just one minute from my home. It was opposite a park and adventure playground, and is where I based my Maya and Marley book series. My siblings and I would either go to the adventure playground or the local Library.
North Kensington is a richly diverse area; my school friends and those who lived in my area came from all corners of the world.
You’ve had a remarkable career - Nursery Manager, Ofsted inspector, teacher, producer, and author. How did those early years in education shape the storyteller you have become?
Yes, more than 40 years of working. I must add that I started off as a clerk and typist, very useful as a writer!
I am dyslexic, and left school with hardly any qualifications although I went on to achieve teaching and management qualifications.
As a writer, I always hold children central to my work, and when I write I always consider whether the children I work with will understand this concept.
I always say as a priority, everything that I do is my Early Years work, and when I deliver author visits, I can connect and relate with the children I meet.
What led you to writing? Do you remember the moment you realised stories were how you wanted to reach children and families?
People from the Caribbean are natural storytellers; I was raised with stories being key to how we communicated with each other. I still remember my mum sharing folk stories with me and my siblings when we were young.
Before she died in 2009 aged 101, my sons and I would visit my grandmother every year in St Lucia. My grandmother was one of a small percentage of the Windrush generation who returned to the Caribbean. I remembered all the stories my grandmother shared with me when I was a child, and my sons would proudly listen to them.
When we moved from Paddington to North Kensington, she would purchase sweets, treats and gifts from the world-famous Portobello Road market and visit us on a Sunday. Of my siblings, I would be the only one at the window getting excited, jumping up and down, shouting: “Mama’s coming! Mama’s coming!”
When we returned from her funeral in St Lucia, naturally I was grieving and thinking about the stories she had told and I thought, I work with young children, maybe they would love to hear a story about a little girl and her grandmother. My middle name is Josephine, hence JoJo. The rest, as they say, is history!
JoJo & Gran Gran is celebrated as the first British animation to feature a Black British family. Why was representation so important to you?
At the time of creating JoJo & Gran Gran, we were not aware it was the first Black British animation. Six years in the show is still a global hit, attracting new JoJo & Gran Gran fans.
It is super important to me that every child can see themselves in a book and lean in and learn about others. I always quote the work of Dr Rudine Sims Bishop, and her famous paper: Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors. In brief, the mirrors are how children see themselves, their family and community in a book, windows are how other children look and see other people’s lives, and sliding glass doors are how children enter into the world and become aware of differences as well as similarities.
For example, in my book Maya and Marley and the Great Big Tidy Up the characters eat cornmeal porridge. If a child is of Caribbean heritage, they will likely be familiar with cornmeal porridge – this is the mirror. The child sees themselves and their identity and culture in the book. The windows are how other children become curious as to what cornmeal porridge is, and through sliding glass doors children can reflect on what cornmeal porridge is, and maybe even find a recipe and find out what cornmeal porridge tastes like. Diversity in children’s books is super important for every child to have an understanding of how they fit into the global village.
At the heart of JoJo & Gran Gran is the special bond between a granddaughter and her grandmother. Why was it important to you to put that intergenerational relationship centre stage, and what do you hope families take from reading and seeing it?
Intergenerational families are at the heart of JoJo & Gran Gran. The feedback that I receive from grandparents, children and parents, is that they can see their families in the show. Some families have adopted ‘Gran Gran’ as a term of endearment for their grandparent!
Equally, families learn about St Lucia, from the food, language and all the amazing things to do on this beautiful island. Every time that I visit there is always something new that I see or experience.
Did you have stories or characters that reflected your own family and heritage when you were growing up? Did that shape what you set out to create with your books?
Even though I am dyslexic, I have always loved reading books. I have many memories of visiting the library and of my mum purchasing books for my siblings and me from the Puffin Book Club. There were no diverse books when I was growing up that reflected my family. When I think about it, I feel that subconsciously that is why all of my books have an element of inclusion, diversity and belonging.
Your books open up conversations about differences, family, and belonging. How can families use stories at home to talk about differences and identity with their young children?
I am one of the ambassadors for the National Year of Reading and using diverse books is a great conversation starter to support children with their understanding on a number of topics. My non-fiction book: My Family, Your Family explores differences in families and how every family is different and unique, for example, children who are adopted, fostered, have two mums, two dads, kinship carers, children who live in different communities such as Gypsy, Roma and Traveller.
Some children may see themselves in a book and others may learn about different family set-ups. We’re back to the work of Dr Rudine Sims Bishop.
As a parent, you know your child best, in terms of their age, stage and development and when it’s an appropriate time to introduce new concepts to them. I wrote an Early Years reading timeline for Ladybird Books, which is a great reference resource to use to explore different age-related books. It can be downloaded for free here.
This year, Black History Month’s theme is ‘Honouring our communities’. What does community mean to you? Who are the communities who have shaped your journey?
Community is super important to me. My childhood was all about community, helping and supporting each other, including the sharing of resources. My work with children comes from my passion for communities and having a person-centred approach.
I have always volunteered, and currently I support the Grenfell Memorial Quilt, I mentor others and recently visited Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital to share my stories with some of the children there. Maya and Marley and the New Friend is dedicated to the Marjory Kinnon Special Needs School in Hounslow.
My book series Maya and Marley depicts an active community. For instance, in Maya and Marley and the Great Big Tidy Up, local residents are involved in the sustainability of the adventure playground, from the Street Sweeper Crew to the cheeky goats, Lou and Chou! In Maya and Marley and the New Friend, Maya and Marley host a community lunch with their new friend Kazuki.
What do you hope the next generation of Black British children - and indeed all children - take from your stories? And what would you say to a young child dreaming of telling their own story?
My hope is that every child can feel that they belong, irrespective of who they are and their background. I also want every child to have the opportunity to read books to learn about others and for every child to begin to understand the importance of including everyone to create a safe space of belonging. Every child should have the opportunity to tell their story, and I hope my stories empower children to do so.
For Black History Month, up until 31st October 2026, Laura in partnership with Afrori books is offering a 10% discount on all of her books, with a minimum spend £10.00.
Click on the link and use the code LHA0SX2S0EZR8:
Or, scan the QR code:
You can find Laura across social media on @LauraHAllain.
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