JaNay Brown-Wood is a professor and writer of children's books.
Brown-Wood was born in California. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned a bachelor of arts in psychology and applied developmental psychology in 2007. She then attended California State University, Sacramento, for a master of arts in child development. She received a Ph.D. in education from the University of California, Davis.
Brown-Wood is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She is also a professor and researcher at the University of California, Davis.
Her book Grandma's Tiny House (Charlesbridge, 2017) received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. In 2021, following the announcement that certain Dr. Seuss books would no longer be republished due to how certain groups were depicted, Stephen Colbert recommended Brown-Wood's book Imani's Moon (Charlesbridge, 2014) on Late Show With Stephan Colbert, asking audience to "consider these books from people of color".
Why Not You? (Random House, 2022), which Brown-Wood wrote with Ciara and Russell Wilson, received a starred review from School Library Journal. It was a New York Times bestseller.
Brown-Wood has written other children's books, including a biography of Harriet Tubman.
Brown-Wood is married and has one child.