my new book, "i can do it! six songs for brave kids" is out now! you can order it directly from my publisher here.

when cali's books reached out to me asking if i'd be interested in partnering, i immediately jumped at the chance. i was already familiar with their interactive sound books since they were all over my FYP on TikTok and i've always wanted to write a book so getting that email was a dream come true.

my main question during our meeting was what direction they wanted to go. i have lots of songs that could work as a book and i'm also very good at writing new songs along a theme so it truly felt like we had endless options.

as we chatted, they mentioned that they were interested in creating a title to help kids manage transitions. they'd recently released a potty training book that was very well-received so they were curious if i could write a set of songs about things like giving up a binky, starting at a new school, and visiting a doctor for the first time.

one of my rules with songwriting is that i only approach topics that i have personal experience with, either from my childhood or with my own kids. i've been asked for a binky song before and it's one i won't write because my children never had an issue with it so i'm not sure how i would approach it.

but as we chatted, i zoomed out and realized that all of these transitions share the same solution: 

building emotional resilience 

emotionally resilient kids are able to manage + cope with their anxiety around the unknown. they know that sometimes being brave means doing it scared. and they know that they have all the tools + support they need to do hard things. 

once that clicked, i realized that i had two existing songs that would perfectly ground the work ("i can do it" and "i'm proud of myself" which ended up being the opener and the closer, respectively!) and came up with the rest in a matter of hours.

a fun challenge about the format of cali's books is that the chip that powers each page can only record up to 20s of music. good thing i love writing catchy jingles! this turned out to be the perfect format for the tiny little hype songs that i love to write, but are too short to make sense on an album.

within a week i recorded + delivered all 6 songs and a week after that the book was in production. and now it's ready for you and your kids to enjoy!

when my editor first heard the song collection, she exclaimed:

"it's like a self-help book for babies!!"

which i absolutely love and feels like everything i was born to do. AND ALSO i've gotten some incredible feedback from folks with kids who range from 0-9 who all love the book and sing these songs to themselves. i like to think the songs hold messages for any adults listening too (though i'm very excited that they come with a headphone jack so you don't have to listen on loop :)

these are the songs that i wish i'd had as an anxious kiddo who tended to give up on things when they got hard or uncomfortable. when the team at cali's asked who i wanted to dedicate the book to, i knew right away: i don't share my own children's names publicly for safety reasons and in truth i wrote these songs for little bb me so i dedicated it to my own anxious inner child.

songs are such a powerful way to embed our subconscious with supportive messages and there is nothing that brings me more joy than knowing that my music is helping kids grow up with the knowledge that they are emotionally resilient, resourceful, and oh so brave 💖

FAQs about mama nous' new book, "i can do it! six songs for brave kids"

where can i buy the book?

all orders are being handled directly by cali's books! you can purchase it on their website or their amazon store.

i know that your shop does not ship internationally: will this book be available outside of the US?

yes! cali's books offers international shipping and it's free on all orders over $75. i asked cali's to create this bundle with 2 of our family's other favorite titles that automatically qualifies for free worldwide shipping!

are these songs available anywhere else? i want the music but don't need the book.

"i can do it" and the short version of "i'm proud of myself" can be found in my alarm sounds: hype kit product. "it's ok to ask for help" turned into "when i can't do it myself" for the book, but most of the lyrics are the same and can be found in my alarm sounds: singable mantras & affirmations set. the other 3 songs are exclusive to the book and i don't plan on releasing them elsewhere!

what age range is the book geared toward?

we designed the illustrations with kids 0-6 in mind and i think the interactive sound book format is best suited to that age range, but i've heard from quite a few families that kiddos up to 10 love this book too!

why did you choose to work with cali's books to publish your first book?

i love that cali's books is a small, Black woman- and family-owned business with direct relationships to their manufacturers. i also love that they employ their own in-house illustrator and NEVER use AI-generated art (which would've been a dealbreaker for me). they are a business that i truly believe in and feels completely values-aligned with my ethos. and the whole team was so lovely to work with so i'm incredibly proud to be part of the cali's family!