Interview: Moniza Hossain

SARAH STEINBACHER: “Just as Joanna Ho’s Eyes That Kiss in the Corners celebrated East Asian heritage,” your most recent picture book, RITU IN THE SUN “will be a welcome addition to South Asian diasporic stories” (Kirkus, starred review). Why do children need diverse stories?

MONIZA HOSSAIN: I like Dr Rudine Sims Bishop’s idea that books are “mirrors, windows, and sliding doors”. Diverse stories are so important because they hold a mirror up to the kids who don’t often get to see themselves reflected in fiction. But just as importantly, these stories are windows into another person’s life and world, and that plays a crucial role in developing empathy in young readers. Children are so varied in their needs and interests, and it’s so important for books to be equally varied so that every child is catered to. My book Ritu in the Sun is about colorism, a pervasive problem in many different communities. But it’s also a story about a young kid’s relationship with her grandma. While there are young readers who may not be impacted by colorism, there are so many other aspects of Ritu’s life they should be able to relate to: her joy, her love for her grandma, the exuberance with which she lives her life. Ritu’s story serves as both a mirror and a window.

SARAH STEINBACHER: Booklist said RITU IN THE SUN is a “lyrical exploration of colorism and self-acceptance through the gentle eyes of a young child” (starred review). You’ve previously shared this was one of the toughest things you’ve ever written. What made it so challenging to write?

MONIZA HOSSAIN: It’s always tough to write stories about prejudice, and it’s even harder when you’re writing for children. The potential to cause harm is so great when you’re writing for the most vulnerable of age groups. And yet children do experience prejudice. And often they lack the context, and even the language, to truly understand what’s happening to them. My challenge in this book was to write about the colorism Ritu experiences in a child-friendly way that’s easy to understand, while simultaneously imparting the message that all skin color is beautiful. I felt an enormous amount of responsibility to write a book that would be ultimately empowering to kids like Ritu. I hope I pulled it off!

SARAH STEINBACHER: RITU IN THE SUN is “a joyful and tender story of building understanding and generational bonds” (Kirkus, starred review). School Library Journal added, “It’s hard to teach self-acceptance and self-esteem to young children, but this book does so in an indirect, organic way” (starred review). Given the recent dialogue about kidlit quality, how do you layer a story’s important message in a way that isn’t labeled ‘didactic’?

MONIZA HOSSAIN: The word “didactic” is so interesting. It basically means “something that is intended to teach”, but we tend to assume didactic stories are preachy and boring. My controversial hot take on “didacticism” is that all books, even the fun books and the silly books, are ultimately didactic. All stories contain some sort of message about the world that the writer is hoping to convey. It’s why we write books in the first place. But for the message to land, the story needs to be compelling. It needs to have a good plot and characters readers care about. Kids have always loved didactic books. It’s just that they don’t always notice they’re being taught, which is a hallmark of a good lesson.

SARAH STEINBACHER: Your picture book, STREET PUPPY, MASJID CAT, is “an empathetic tale of friendship forged through kindness” (Booklist) and “a charming, tenderhearted tale with lovable characters and a message of care” (Kirkus). What inspired this unlikely friendship story? And what do you hope readers get out of it?

MONIZA HOSSAIN: I was looking after my sister’s dog at the time, and he was obsessed with the cat that lived in my neighborhood mosque. Every time we walked by the mosque he’d whimper and cry while the cat hissed at him. It was so sad that I wrote Street Puppy Masjid Cat to give him a happier ending where the cat actually befriends the dog. Street Puppy Masjid Cat is also a story about overcoming prejudice through empathy and kindness, but told in a very child-friendly way. For the parents who wish to do it, I hope the story serves as a launching-off point for discussions about those themes.

SARAH STEINBACHER: Your first middle grade supernatural horror novel, BAD THINGS HAPPENED HERE (available 9/1/26), is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Why are stories about loss, like this one, valuable for children?

MONIZA HOSSAIN: Kids love the horror genre, and I think it’s because it allows them to grapple with fear in a safe and contained way. And what can be scarier than the fear of losing a loved one? Death as a concept is so hard to grasp when you’re a child. It’s big and scary, and so all-consuming. But fiction can make scary things easier to process. In my story, my main character has to deal with the loss of a parent. It’s one of the worst things a child can go through and is something most kids fear. They certainly fear it more than ghosts! My book shows that life can continue even after a loss of that magnitude, and that makes the fear of that loss easier to bear.

SARAH STEINBACHER: You’ve written across a variety of kidlit ages and genres. What do you like about each and do you have a favorite age/genre?

MONIZA HOSSAIN: I like writing picture books because they’re so challenging. Telling a satisfying story in five hundred words is incredibly difficult. You have to squeeze character arcs, a compelling plot, and thematic messages into thirty-four pages. That’s not for the faint of heart! But you get to work with brilliant artists and watch them bring your story to life, and there’s no greater joy than that. Writing horror for kids brings with it a different set of challenges. The book has to be scary, but not too scary. It’s still very fun to come up with the scary scenes though. I think adults tend to underestimate what kids can handle.

SARAH STEINBACHER: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the kidlit community right now? And what gives you hope today?

MONIZA HOSSAIN: We’re living at a time of rising conservatism, which means more book bans and fewer diverse books being published. But I know the publishing industry is full of good, kind, hardworking people who’re doing their best to make sure every child gets to see themselves reflected in books. Institutions might fail us, but I always have faith in the essential goodness of people.

Follow Moniza through her website and Instagram.

*****Order Moniza’s picture books, RITU IN THE SUN and STREET PUPPY, MASJID CAT, both available now.*****

*****Pre-order Moniza’s middle grade supernatural horror novel, BAD THINGS HAPPENED HERE, available 9/1/2026.*****