What does it really mean to be "pretty?" This word has had the power to both build up and tear down women and girls for centuries based on beauty standards of the broader culture particularly for African American females. Songwriter and author Maya Marchelle's own self-esteem journey brought her to the realization that a mirror image of "pretty" would never be enough unless it was embraced as God's own image (Genesis 1:26). She was inspired enough to write a song from this revelation and then share images in an Afrocentric positive self-esteem-building coloring adventure for girls and women to color their own "pretty."

Maya Marchelle is from Minneapolis Minnesota and has been contributing to what is known as "black girl magic" since 1987. Her passion for young people and her melanin along with her desire to help young black women recognize how much their existence means to the world inspired the Hey Pretty! Movement. This is Maya's first published work as an author.