Hamilton Public Library welcomes our first Junior Librarian-in-eResidence, 11-year-old, Ainara Alleyne. She is a Grade 6 student who loves to read and recommend books that celebrate diversity and culture through characters and themes. Ainara’s residency runs January 2021 to December 2021.

Watch CBC's The National recent interview with the avid reader, at HPL's Turner Park Branch.
Ainara discusses how her love of reading has evolved and shaped her reading choices.

Learn more about Ainara in a recent CBC News article.

I Read Canadian Day is Wednesday February 17, 2021. 

On I Read Canadian Day, our Junior Librarian-in-eResidence, Ainara, reads Malaika's Winter Carnival, written by Nadia L. Hohn and illustrated by Irene Luxbacher. Malaika's Winter Carnival is "a warm story about the importance of family, especially when adjusting to a new home." Read Malaika's Winter Carnival on Hoopla.

Recommendations by Ainara

Looking for school age reader recommendations? Ainara can help suggest what to read, listen or watch. Complete the Which Book Next online form to receive personally selected print and/or digital materials. With 67 hand-selected fiction and non-fiction titles, there's a variety of books or eBooks for children and teens.

The achievements of Viola Desmond — the woman who appears on our $10 — is cause for celebration. Ainara explains why in this video. Learn more about Viola in this Discover at Home activity page.