Why I Wrote Khanyi and the Kite — The Story Behind Mbilu Tales

When I sat down to write Khanyi and the Kite, I wasn't thinking about publishing. I was thinking about a little girl I knew — bright, curious, full of light — who had never once seen a heroine who looked like her in a children's book.

That bothered me more than I can explain.

I'm Candida Mosoma. I'm a South African actress and performer, and I grew up surrounded by the warmth of Tsonga culture — the rhythms, the food, the wisdom of grandmothers like Kokwani, the laughter, the love. I grew up knowing my heritage was something beautiful and worth celebrating. But when I looked at the shelves of children's bookshops, that world was almost entirely invisible.

Mbilu means heart in Tsonga — the language of my roots.

That's where Mbilu Tales began. Not with a business plan or a publishing deal, but with a feeling — a deep, quiet conviction that African children deserve to see themselves reflected in stories. Bold. Bright. Curious. Brave. Full of possibility.

Khanyi is that child. She's the girl I wanted to read about when I was small. She's inspired by real people I love — her pug Momo by a companion whose spirit I carry with me, Kokwani by the grandmothers and elders whose wisdom has guided me.

When her kite flies away on a windy day full of wonder, Khanyi doesn't give up. She goes after it. And in doing so, she learns something about courage, and about the love that always guides us home.

The response when the book launched still moves me. Parents messaging to say their daughter ran to her nanny shouting "Kokwani is in the book!" Children who couldn't yet read giving full recounts of every page from memory. Teachers requesting copies for classrooms.

That's why I wrote this book. And it's why I'll keep writing them.

If you'd like Khanyi and the Kite for the child in your life, you can find it right here on the Mbilu Tales website — available in the UK and South Africa, with more adventures on the way.

— Candida Mosoma, founder of Mbilu Tales