Kimberly Biddle<\/a>, fellow author and former child and adolescent development professor at Sac State, was one of Brown-Wood\u2019s professors and spoke to her professionalism.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was very competent and able to do her task,\u201d Biddle said. \u201cShe was also very supportive as a colleague, she would support other colleagues and she\u2019s been very supportive of me along my writing journey for children.\u201d<\/p>\n Growing up, Brown-Wood said she hated reading. As a kid, she didn\u2019t have access to books that included diverse storytelling or characters. In response, she decided to write her own stories that were inspired by herself or her family to offer Black children the feeling of joy in finding themselves in literacy.<\/p>\n When Brown-Wood began attending UCLA she started brainstorming ideas on her first book \u201cImani\u2019s Moon<\/a>.\u201d During its production, Brown-Wood faced many rejections from editors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt took eight years from the idea of \u2018Imani\u2019s Moon\u2019 to holding a published book and during the whole time it was filled with rejections,\u201d Brown-Wood said. \u201cInstead of letting that stop me I just kept learning about how to write strong stories.\u201d<\/p>\n Even though she already had her bachelor\u2019s degree at the time, Brown-Wood decided to take writing classes at American River College. During that time, she joined a critique group where she was recommended by a friend to submit \u201cImani\u2019s Moon\u201d for a contest run by the National Association of Elementary School Principles<\/a> (NAESP) to win a publication contract. \u201cImani Moon\u201d won the NAESP Children\u2019s Book of the Year Award and was released on Oct. 14, 2014.<\/p>\n Brown-Wood has then released 37 publications<\/a> consisting of children\u2019s books and poems<\/a> for anthologies she\u2019s written in. After the release of \u201cImani\u2019s Moon,\u201d Brown-Wood then published \u201cGrandma\u2019s Tiny House\u201d in 2017 and \u201cShhh! The Baby\u2019s Asleep\u201d in 2021.<\/p>\n Her latest book, \u201cThis Hair Belongs,<\/a>\u201d released on Jan. 13 2026, is an ode to Black hair types, and exemplifies her advocacy for Black representation in literature. Brown-Wood talks on the stigmatization of Black hair and the euro-centric expectations of hair in society.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re told it needs to be straightened and long and that it looks unprofessional and all of these messages I\u2019ve grown up with,\u201d Brown-Wood said. \u201c\u2018This Hair Belongs\u2019 pushes back against that and says, \u2018No your hair is beautiful, your hair is magic and you belong.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Passionate about teaching kids to love reading, Brown-Wood writes in a blog<\/a> delving into the literacy rates of kids. Within the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress<\/a> Report Card<\/a> for reading, Brown-Wood found that 40% of fourth graders and a third of eight graders in the U.S. aren\u2019t meeting basic level of proficiency in reading.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s where my fire comes from. I just know that literacy skills are so important within society and if you don\u2019t have strong literacy skills that can impact the trajectory of your life,\u201d Brown-Wood said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/EMBED-1-4-600x400.jpg\")
JaNay Brown-Wood sits in front of the children\u2019s books she published at the Sacramento State Welcome Center on Tuesday, March 23, 2026. Brown Wood\u2019s latest book is \u201cThis Hair Belongs\u201d and was released in January 2026. (Photo by Gabriel Solis<\/a>)<\/p>\n