Tayma Hunte and her son Isaiah Marche-Hunte holding their book, I Am

AN Islington mother and son have teamed up to write a poetry book to increase representation and inspire children of black heritage.

Tayma Hunte, 29, and her son Isaiah Marche-Hunte, 9, who live in the Caledonian Road area, wrote the book last year during the lockdown.

Titled I Am, it features nine poems which aim to promote confidence and teach children how to understand their feelings and take care of their mental health.

The book also features a poem celebrating iconic and historic black figures, including Martin Luther King, Beyoncé and the British rapper Stormzy.

It also includes a “gratitude journal” to help children focus their attention on the positive things in their life.

Ms Hunte said: “We really enjoy writing poems together and have been using affirmations where you repeat positive statements to overcome negative feelings. They have really helped Isaiah to express and explore his emotions.

“Knowing that lots of people, especially children, were suffering during the lockdown we wanted to share what we had learnt and inspire children and boost their confidence to help them to better manage their mental health.”

Only 7 per cent of children’s books published in the UK between 2017 and 2019 feature characters of colour, despite 33.5 per cent of UK primary school children coming from a Bame (black, Asian and minority ethnic) background.

Ms Hunte added: “It was really important to us that the book featured diverse illustrations and represented our ethnicity. We started writing the book not long after the start of the Black Lives Matter movement and what happened with George Floyd’s death really affected me. I wanted to do something positive in response that specifically related to children of black heritage and championed love, self-acceptance and tolerance.”

Ms Hunte has now been shortlisted for the award-winning Penguin Random House Write­Now programme. The programme aims to find, nurture and publish new writers from under-represented communities.

She said: “I’m really excited and honoured to be shortlisted for the WriteNow programme. I was told that there were more than 900 entries so to make the final 50 shortlist feels like a huge achievement.

“The feedback we’ve had from the book has been amazing. I’ve had some lovely comments from parents and children from different backgrounds about how much they enjoyed reading it.

“I think it’s really important that children see themselves and others in the books they read. I’ve read lots of children’s books but I’ve always struggled to find something that relates to my son. Children like my son deserve to know that their lives and stories matter too. Books shape how children see themselves and the world around them and create empathy.”

Isaiah said: “Writing the book with my mum was so much fun. I really like writing and enjoyed writing the poems with her. It was really exciting seeing the book for the first time with the illustrations.”

Tayma said: “I’m so proud of Isaiah. Writing the book has massively increased his confidence. It’s great knowing that he has helped create something that will inspire and encourage children, especially those of black heritage to feel more confident and know their self-worth.

“I would like to write more books in the future to increase diversity in publishing and inspire even more children and young people.”

• www.etsy.com/no-en/shop/IAmBooks