Aissata Pinto da Costa - "The Melitas" Coloring Book

THE MELITAS are motivational characters on a mission to inspire Black and Brown girls of all ages to unleash their power by being active. Their creed is “Unleash Your Power, Exercise!” Great potential is within you and all you have to do is start moving. THE MELITAS exercise on colorful backgrounds of Aissata’s signature patterns and they are involved in a variety of sports. These dynamic, women characters were created because of the extreme lack of inspirational, fictional female characters of color on the market. “It became an obsession that wouldn’t leave my mind, so THE MELITAS were born.

The characters live in an African Hello Kitty-like Universe where they are featured in engaging, uplifting stories and imagery intentionally created to empower African and  Brown girls all over the world. Seeing themselves reflected in the confident, athletic, curvaceous sportsters who look like them and the women in their families, provide girls of color with positive representations of themselves, reiterating for them that a curvy, athletic woman is an attractive role model.