12-year-old Hamilton girl uses Instagram to promote diversity in books

A young girl from Hamilton is using her love of reading and knack for social media to teach others about the importance of diversity in books.

Ainara Alleyne, 12, loves to read but as she got older, she started to notice something about the books available to her. That’s when Alleyne, under her parents’ supervision, started ‘Ainara’s Bookshelf’ where she was able to share books with normal kids that happened to be of colour.

In just two years, Alleyne has suddenly become the authority in diversifying the bookshelves of local libraries even her own school’s collection.

Alleyne’s generation had a pandemic that kept her bored in their homes. So she grabbed her phone and got to work. In fact, library days at school are her all-time favourite days.