Cyana Riley
Cyana Riley was born and raised in Washington DC. She graduated from George Washington University and spent the first six years of her career as a teacher. It was during that time when she fell in love with writing children’s stories, and also when she realized the underrepresentation of Black and brown children of color in existing stories. Inspired by her interracial marriage and biracial children, Cyana published her children’s book Not So Different, which encourages children to embrace their differences and celebrate diversity. Cyana is now a stay at home mom and lives in Maryland with her husband, two children, and Bella the Golden-Doodle. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, spending time at the beach, and taking pictures of her family.
Boobies Go Bye-Bye: A Weaning Story
It was January of 2020, the middle of the pandemic, and I was still breastfeeding my 17-month-old daughter. This was my second go-round with breastfeeding. I weaned my older son at 14 months and...
The Reality of a Stay-At-Home Mom
I remember the first time someone told me I was lucky to be a stay-at-home mom. At the time, I felt anything but lucky. I became a stay-at-home mom after I had my first...
Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an American Hero
With MLK day here, I'm gearing up for ways to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with my four-year-old son. We've talked about Dr. King before, but I think this will be the first...
Not So Different: A Children’s Book Celebrating Diversity
I remember the exact moment when I decided that writing children’s books was what I wanted to do. I sat on the floor with my preschool class in Washington, DC waiting to go outside. As...