Children’s book series “Levi&Toonk” celebrates gifted children of color through authentic representation

Image source: Levi&Toonk

Nakia “Kia M.” Montgomery fell in love with writing in elementary school. But it was her love for her gifted and precocious grandson Levi that inspired her to write “Levi&Toonk”, a children’s book series that captures an authentic and joyous representation of growing up as a Black boy in America. Created with her daughter — educator, editor-in-chief, and entrepreneur Bri Smocks — “Levi&Toonk” is inspiring and educating young children around the world.

“I’m a Gifted Education Specialist who knows what it’s like to see and cultivate talent,” says Bri. “I also know that children of color aren’t represented in those spaces. With “Levi&Toonk”, we’re showing authentic minority representation to help both children and adults recognize that there’s a gift in everyone that they can use to contribute to the world.”

Brought to life through the power of imagination and Adobe creative tools, “Levi&Toonk” follows the adventures of a young boy named Levi alongside his imaginary friend and alter-ego, Toonk. Kia and Bri released the first collection of many Levi&Toonk board books for young readers alongside educational materials such as reading guides and word searches to encourage literacy skills. By expanding on the “Levi&Toonk” universe, the mother-daughter duo aims to encourage literacy and representation for all children.

I spoke with Kia and Bri as part of the Adobe Changemakers video series to discuss how a gifted boy inspired the duo to share their dreams.

Nurturing literary talent

The story of “Levi&Toonk” began in 2019. Kia was struggling with the idea of continuing to work in a sterile corporate office. Instead, she decided to embrace what brought her joy: writing and family.

“Levi is very charismatic and precocious,” says Kia. “The way he talks and communicates is so real. It made me very interested in writing stories about him.”

Around the same time, Bri moved to California after graduating with a Master of Educational Leadership degree. After spending years in the classroom helping students make the most of their gifts, she dreamed of becoming a school principal who could do the same for teachers. But as she watched her mother gain confidence and joy pursuing her writing, Bri recognized a new calling: helping talented adults like her mother reach their potential.

“Instead of waiting for someone to give us an opportunity to share our gifts, I thought, why don’t we build it together?” recalls Bri. “Her passion for writing and my passion for education and administration married that day. I decided to use my professional expertise to empower my mother and help her reach many families with her stories.”

Bringing “Levi&Toonk” to life

Rather than working through the traditional publishing route, Bri decided that self-publishing would allow her to get “Levi&Toonk” into the hands of readers much faster.

Each collection consists of six books. The first follows Levi as he grows from a baby into a toddler, exploring topics such as family, potty training, and the terrible twos (which Toonk says are not so terrible). The Second Collection (illustrated by Jolie Brownell) continues the story, digging deeper into Levi’s adventures as he starts to develop a sense of himself. While each book is a complete story, the collections unify books around themes to encourage children to get hooked and want to read more.

Kia was particularly interested in making sure that the book was as colorful and real as Levi himself. “The Levi in the book had to look like a real-life person, not someone that we made up,” says Kia. “We wanted children — especially Black and Brown children — to recognize that Levi is a child just like them.”

Illustrator Christina Moreland brought the First Collection books to life with Adobe Illustrator, part of Adobe Creative Cloud. Many of the illustrations are based on actual photographs of Levi as a baby and a toddler. Alter-ego Toonk took on a slightly different design, with crown and cornrows to make him look more assertive and assured.

“‘Toonk’ comes from an actual nickname that I created for Levi,” says Kia. “I saw it like a different side of him. Toonk is that voice of reason within Levi that says, ‘Should I really be doing that?’ I made a very deliberate decision to give him the crown because I want him to see himself as a Black king meant for greatness.”

Both the book and logos were built in Adobe Illustrator. Working with Illustrator means that the visuals retain their crisp look at any size and across any medium, whether printed on a board book, viewed as a preview on the webpage, or displayed as small logos on social media channels.

“We used Adobe Acrobat for reviews,” adds Bri. “It was so easy because Christina could export her work as a PDF directly from Illustrator, and then I could use the review tools to add comments. It was so great to have the compatibility between the Adobe products, especially as a small independent publisher that needs to work efficiently.”

Growing the “Levi&Toonk” universe

Kia and Bri have big plans for “Levi&Toonk”. Kia hopes that the series will continue for years to come, evolving from simple children’s books to chapter books aimed at teenagers. Bri is expanding her dream of supporting people with Smocks Media Group, founded with her husband Art. She highlights trailblazing voices through the digital quarterly magazine Diderot while working to expand the Levi&Toonk universe to YouTube and other mediums.

“It’s important for me that the Levi&Toonk brand showcase authenticity, highlighting an authentic Black family,” says Bri. “Children of all colors should see that there’s so many different modalities in the Black experience. I’m hoping that in my endeavors, I can contribute to enriching livelihoods and communities across the nation.”

Kia and Bri are two of several changemakers who stand out and inspire us with their vision and commitment to making a positive impact in their communities. Learn more about Adobe’s Changemakers video series.

Learn more about Levi&Toonk through its website.