Mama's Sleeping Scarf

Ages 3 to 7, Grades P to 2

The first children's book from the best-selling author of We Should All Be Feminists and Americanah—a tender story about a little girl’s love for her mother’s scarf, and the adventures she shares with it and her whole family

Chino loves the scarf that her mama ties around her hair at night. But when Mama leaves for the day, what happens to her scarf? Chino takes it on endless adventures! Peeking through the colorful haze of the silky scarf, Chino and her toy bunny can look at her whole family as they go through their routines. 

With stunning illustrations from Joelle Avelino, Mama’s Sleeping Scarf is a celebration of family, and a touching story about the everyday objects that remind us of the ones we love.

Series Overview: This will be the first in a series of books.The first children's book from the best-selling author of We Should All Be Feminists and Americanah—a tender story about a little girl’s love for her mother’s scarf, and the adventures she shares with it and her whole family

Chino loves the scarf that her mama ties around her hair at night. But when Mama leaves for the day, what happens to her scarf? Chino takes it on endless adventures! Peeking through the colorful haze of the silky scarf, Chino and her toy bunny can look at her whole family as they go through their routines. 

With stunning illustrations from Joelle Avelino, Mama’s Sleeping Scarf is a celebration of family, and a touching story about the everyday objects that remind us of the ones we love.

Series Overview: This will be the first in a series of books.

About the Author

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE grew up in Nigeria. Her work has been translated into thirty languages and has appeared in various publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, Granta, The O. Henry Prize Stories, Financial Times, and Zoetrope: All-Story. She is the author of the novels Purple Hibiscus, which won the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award; Half of a Yellow Sun, which was the recipient of the Women’s Prize for Fiction “Winner of Winners” award; Americanah, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award; the story collection The Thing Around Your Neck; and the essays We Should All Be Feminists and Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, both national bestsellers. A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, she divides her time between the United States and Nigeria.

Author Residence: Baltimore, MD

Author Hometown: Enugu, Nigeria

JOELLE AVELINO is a Congolese and Angolan illustrator who grew up in the United Kingdom. Her work has been featured in The Guardian, Elle magazine, Time magazine, Huffington Post, and by the BBC and Malala Fund.CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE grew up in Nigeria. Her work has been translated into thirty languages and has appeared in various publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, Granta, The O. Henry Prize Stories, Financial Times, and Zoetrope: All-Story. She is the author of the novels Purple Hibiscus, which won the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award; Half of a Yellow Sun, which was the recipient of the Women’s Prize for Fiction “Winner of Winners” award; Americanah, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award; the story collection The Thing Around Your Neck; and the essays We Should All Be Feminists and Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, both national bestsellers. A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, she divides her time between the United States and Nigeria.

Author Residence: Baltimore, MD

Author Hometown: Enugu, Nigeria

JOELLE AVELINO is a Congolese and Angolan illustrator who grew up in the United Kingdom. Her work has been featured in The Guardian, Elle magazine, Time magazine, Huffington Post, and by the BBC and Malala Fund.