MALAIKA’S COSTUME
After months of keeping it secret, now I finally get to share it with you. SURPRISE! The 2021 TD Grade One Book Giveaway was shared on CTV Morning on Monday, November 29, 2021. There will be a Malaika’s Costume float in the 117th Annual #Toronto Santa Claus Parade. 🎅🎅🏻🎅🏼🎅🏽🎅🏿🎅🏾
I am super proud of this announcement. As a child, my sister and I would watch the parade on television annually and now, my picture book will be a part of this years event. The parade airs on CTV at 7pm ET on Saturday, December 4, 2021. Watch the full interview on my IGTV or at linktr.ee/nadialhohn. The SCP float announcement is made at the 3:17 mark. Check my author page updates, details, and photos: Nadia L. Hohn.
Why does this matter?
When I learned this news a few months ago, I was nervous. But now, at this moment, I feel proud, excited, and completely honoured to have my first picturebook, #MalaikasCostume be the first #TDBookGiveaway float. (I’ve even shed a few tears today.) The #TDGradeOneBookGiveaway is giving over 550, 000 copies of Malaika’s Costume to children across Canada.
There was a time when I was a little Black girl growing up in #Jane & Finch and #Rexdale, although my sister and I watched the parade annually and we lived in the same city as this parade, it seemed so very far away. Our parents worked shifts, sometimes doubleshifts, so the very thought of traveling downtown by multiple subway and bus exchanges was not possible. I was a kid growing up in #Canada 🇨🇦 during the late 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Seeing #BlackCanadian and other diverse people on tv was a rarity, especially one that celebrated my #Caribbean identity.
Now my picture book will be a part of this year’s event because #representation matters! And my story, #MalaikasCostume, is one of #immigration and #community and a dream. I want every child to watch this float and feel seen, as Irene Luxbacher’s illustrations are brought to life. Please follow #Malaika on this new adventure.
The parade airs on CTV at 7pm ET on Saturday, December, 2021.
Stay tuned for part 2.