HAMILTON — Ainara Alleyne says she hopes her new TV show will teach kids that reading doesn’t have to be a chore. “A goal of mine is definitely to show kids that reading can be enjoyable and all the benefits you can have,” she says.
The 13-year-old Hamiltonian manages Ainara’s Bookshelf, a popular Instagram page she started in 2020 after finding a lack of books with BIPOC characters at the library. On her page, Alleyne interviews authors, reviews titles, and reads aloud from children’s books.
Turtlebox Productions, a Hamilton-based production company, worked with Alleyne to produce a TV version of Ainara’s Bookshelf. It will air on TVO February 2 and is already on YouTube.
Kat Kelly Hayduk, co-founder of Turtlebox and an executive producer on the show, says she thinks the program will be played in a lot of classrooms. “It’s a natural fit for teachers.” She says the show’s fast-paced style, colourful graphics, and in-person interviews will help engage a younger audience.
“We didn’t want it to just be just her Instagram,” Hayduk says.
Alleyne tells TVO Today about making the switch to TV, the importance of diversity in children’s books, and why books with racialized or queer characters don’t have to be about identity.
Episode 2 of Ainara's Bookshelf
TVO Today: You’ve been on Instagram for a few years now. Why did you want to do a TV show?
Ainara Alleyne: Well, I hadn’t really thought that was possible. I mean, this was just my little project that I realized had grown, and people were very supportive of it. But I didn’t think that something like an Instagram page could become bigger and become a TV series. So, after I had Turtlebox and some other productions come up to me and talk to me about the possibility of doing a show, I was like, “Wow, this is a real thing. People are actually interested in seeing it like this.” And I talked to my dad about it, and I realized that this is a real possibility. And, if it can reach a wider audience, then I would definitely want to be a part of it.
TVO Today: Hmm. Yeah, because you’d already been doing a lot of video work, right, but it hadn’t been in that kind of format?
Alleyne: Yeah, I like to do a lot of video reviews. It’s just what I love. I think it was easier going into doing a TV series because I was already used to sitting in front of the camera and speaking my reviews.
Ainara Alleyne at Turtlebox’s Hamilton office. (Justin Chandler)
TVO Today: What’s something that you’ve enjoyed about making that switch from doing this on the page to actually working with the production team?
Alleyne: It’s been kind of crazy. I’m used to it just being me and my dad working on these reviews and posting and sharing and all that, but I think one of my favourite things about doing the TV show was the interview part. I actually got to go on location and be face to face with some of my favourite authors. We got to go to Los Angeles and New York, which is really fun. Since Ainara’s Bookshelf is, of course, an Instagram account, it’s online. I started during COVID, so I hadn’t really been able to do any of that, especially [with] the authors that live in America. So I’m really grateful that I was actually able to go meet them face to face and have that connection in person
TVO Today: Yeah, it was cool when I was watching through the episodes, and suddenly you say, “Let’s go there.” And, oh, she actually went.
Alleyne: Yeah, it’s really fun. And I like saying that. We actually get to go meet this author. Come with me. It’s going to be really fun.
TVO Today: And it must be kind of a big change from the DIY aspect of the page.
Alleyne: Yeah, it’s definitely different. It was really just me in front of the camera doing this, writing my own reviews and everything like that. Working on a team, it was definitely a change, but I think it was a good change. It was fun, and it helped me build skills.
Ainara Alleyne and actor Kamaia Fairburn on set at the Hamilton Public Library. (Turtlebox Productions)
TVO Today: And has there been anything that’s been a challenge about getting used to doing this in a new way?
Alleyne: Yeah. I had some time adjusting because there were stricter deadlines — and with how long the interview or the review portion could be, just because it’s for the 11-minute episode. It was also stricter about spoilers and things like that, so I had to be extra careful. But it was cool because I had not only my dad giving me notes, but also the production team, who has been working with TV shows. So it was cool. It was cool seeing how my Instagram reviews could be modified and adapted for TV.
TVO Today: I think probably of the episodes I’ve seen so far, my favourite is the one where you go to the library.
Alleyne: Yeah!
TVO Today: I thought it was fun to see you’re not just talking about a book — you’re also talking about how people can find new books and then getting into the history of the institution as well. Do you think that’s part of what you’re doing, too: trying to tell people not just about books, but also about how they can get into reading and find these things that that they might like?
Alleyne: Yeah, that’s definitely really important to me. I loved filming the library episode with Kamaia Fairburn. It was a lot of fun going, exploring the Makerspace and different things like that. But a goal of mine is definitely to show kids that reading can be enjoyable and all the benefits it can have. Your reading skills, your writing skills, all these things will help you no matter what job or path you want to take in life. I think it’s important to show the benefits and the fun, too, because I think a lot of kids sometimes think that reading is a chore, so it’s good to show them these things to help encourage them.
Episode 4 of Ainara's Bookshelf
TVO Today: I think you’ve said in the past that you weren’t really a reader until you discovered the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series, which I remember reading when I was about your age now. What did you find or what have you learned doing Ainara’s Bookshelf that you’ve seen can inspire people to read or make them feel that it’s not just a chore, but something that’s interesting and accessible for them, too?
Alleyne: Something I say a lot is finding books that have themes or characters or a genre that you like. If you’re reading a book about things that you enjoy, then you’re going to enjoy it, too, right? I think the thing about Percy Jackson was that it was fantasy, and it had Greek mythology — which I’m obsessed with — and it was action. It put all these components that I loved into a book, so I enjoyed it so much. When I recommend books to my basketball friends about basketball, like I recommendedThe Crossover to my best friend, who is a big basketball player. She loved it because these are things that she loves, things that she’s passionate about, and when you’re reading about it, you just enjoy it because you enjoy that thing as well.
TVO Today: And what do you look for when you’re looking for a book or author to feature on the Instagram page or on the show?
Alleyne: Well, my page is all about diversity and representation. I think own-voice stories are so important. My favourite genre is fantasy, but I try to go beyond my comfort zone so I can reach kids that might not like fantasy as much. I’m trying to do that even more in 2023. I just try to make sure I’m going all over the place, things that might not be in my comfort zone but that other kids might like, just so I’m making sure I’m reaching all those kids out there who might not love reading and try to change that.
Agenda segment, Aug. 30, 2019: Bringing diversity to kid lit
TVO Today: You’ve said that one of the reasons that you started was that you were interested in reading but weren’t finding a lot of books by BIPOC authors or with BIPOC characters. I think at a Hamilton Black History Council event last year, you said you wanted it to become so common that your page would eventually go out of business. How are we doing on that front?
Alleyne: I’m definitely seeing more and more bookstagrammers [Instagram users who share and promote books, often using the hashtag #bookstagram] sharing more diverse books, and it’s just becoming part of their regular feed. It doesn’t have to be one specific goal of spreading diverse books, but we’re doing it anyway because these books are so great, and more are coming out every year, every day. I think that statement might come true, but we’re still working on it. We’re getting closer and closer. And, honestly, that’s a good thing.
TVO Today: You mentioned you love fantasy, and you cover a lot of fantasy and science fiction. Unfortunately, these are communities that can be really gatekeeper-y or push back against diversity. There can be sexism and racism. How do you deal with the more exclusionary elements that are unfortunately present in those communities?
Alleyne: I just really try to keep spreading these messages. I know that there can be lots of negative comments. Sometimes people might not be accepting, but I’m not doing what I’m doing for them. I’m doing it for the people that need to be seen, that need to be represented, that want to see themselves in books like I did. I’m not going to stop spreading diverse books no matter what it’s about. If it’s racism, if it’s sexism, if it’s anything negative about any type of person. I think everybody should be accepted, and everybody deserves to see themselves in any aspect. If it’s in fantasy, if it’s in sci-fi, you should be able to see a Black girl or an Indigenous girl. That should be just something normal. I just want to make sure that everybody is seen no matter what.
TVO Today: And when you talk about some of these tough topics on your show, what’s your approach for trying to make something understandable or palatable to people who are a little younger?
Alleyne: I think something that should be remembered is that kids can understand these things. You shouldn’t talk down to them, because they’re capable of understanding. They are capable of experiencing these things, so they’re capable of understanding them. But you also do have to be careful. You can’t be saying all these big words and phrases; you have to just break it down for them so that they see it, and they understand it, because, once they understand it, they’ll be able to recognize it in the real world, especially if it’s something like racism or sexism. They’ll be able to feel “Oh, okay, this kind of reminds me of something that they said. It sounds like something might be sexist, or it might be racist. Let me think about it. Maybe go back to this book, look it up a little bit, because it doesn’t feel right.” They’ll be able to understand it better. You can’t be too soft about it, but you can’t be too hard on them, either. Just making sure that you’re really breaking it down so that they can understand.
Agenda segment, April 21, 2022: Should Ontario bring back phonics?
TVO Today: I noticed in the show you’ve got those text boxes that will come up, and they’ll explain a word or a concept, which I thought was cool.
Alleyne: Yeah, definitely. I think expanding vocabulary can be really fun and interesting. For a word you might not understand but hear a lot, it can be good to get a definition. I know I’ve heard a couple of words that I didn’t know, but I was too scared to ask somebody because it felt like everybody knew what it meant. It’s nice to break it down. It’s nice to know what these words mean and better understand them. In [the book] Beatrice and Croc Harry, a big element of that was vocabulary, and I talked to Lawrence Hill about that. It’s very important for kids to be able to expand their vocabulary. And it’s fun.
TVO Today: So we talked about how you deal with some of the more difficult concepts in the show. I remember you saying somewhere that, during Black History Month, we should have books that aren’t just about slavery and about racism but that deal with other topics or maybe be more empowering. What did you mean by that?
Alleyne: When we think of Black history, we only think of the negative. We only think of slavery. But I think an important topic is Black futures. I’m actually working with CBC Kids News right now about that topic: Black Futures and where we came from before the slavery. And this is also something I talked to Kwame Alexander about. Black people had a history before slavery, right? We shouldn’t just focus on slavery and civil rights. I always say that those are such important stories because that is a part of our history.
But I think there’s just more to that. We’ve come so far, and it’s important to also look at Black characters in books doing great things, even if it is in fantasy or in sci-fi. I think those are great books to share during Black History Month because it shows us in a new light, in a different world and something fun and exciting. We’re still seeing Black people, but it shows them in a new way, in a fun way that can be seen by other Black kids like me, just so that they know that’s not all there is to them, to their history, to their ancestors. It’s not just sadness and slavery: there’s light and there’s hope and there’s joy.
Ainara Alleyne and author Lawrence Hill recording in Hamilton. (Turtlebox Productions)
TVO Today: And it seems like that’s something you try to do with a lot of different books that you read. This is a book with a kid who happens to identity as X. It’s not just about their struggles with that identity. It might be. It could be. But it doesn’t have to be. It could also just be they’re a wizard.
Alleyne: Yeah, that could be a part of their story, but that’s not it. They have their own life. They have their own adventures that they’re going to go on and explore and their own friends and families and lives. It doesn’t just have to be that they’re Black. That doesn’t have to be their whole character.
TVO Today: Now that you’ve got this show coming out, and the episodes are starting to air, what’s next for you?
Alleyne: Well, I’m really excited to share these new episodes as they come out. It’s going to be really fun. I’m going to keep going on Instagram. I want to really write my own stories. I really want to get better at my writing and my storytelling. I’ve had lots of notes from authors that I’ve interviewed, so I’m going to take those to heart. I think that’s next. Just trying to write my own stories, do my own storytelling, and keep sharing those diverse books on Instagram.
This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.
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