Riley Can Be Anything – by Davina Hamilton

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]avina Hamilton is rooted in beautiful Jamaica. Both her parents were born and raised on the island but Davina lives in the United Kingdom. For over fifteen years she has prided herself in her writing and journalism and has thus far created an impressive portfolio. Davina is known especially for being the former arts and entertainment editor of the UK Voice newspaper and for her experience in radio broadcasting with popular British stations. Her work has provided extensive information about international arts, culture and entertainment. Now she has a new badge to add to her sash: Davina has become a freelance writer and journalist and recently created her first children’s book.

‘Riley Can Be Anything’ made its debut on davinahamilton.com and Amazon in March of this year. Davina had many inspirations for delving into a genre of writing different from her norm, the biggest, obviously, being her children. The main character of the book, Riley, is named after her son.

This imaginative protagonist discusses with his big cousin Joe the many opportunities that lie in his future. Young Riley cannot immediately decide what profession or field he would like to pursue so he asks cousin Joe to help. Together they come up with many ideas ranging from playing in a jazz band to becoming a physician, all of which Riley has living examples of, including his uncles and grandfather.

Riley’s cousin gives him plenty to think about so that when Riley goes to school, although he’s still unsure of what to choose in the moment, he knows that he can be anything!

‘Riley Can Be Anything’ is populated with black characters for a purposeful reason. Throughout her years in the entertainment business and with the experience she’s had with her own children, Davina noticed that not many storybooks contained strictly black characters. Wanting to make her small difference to children’s literature, she created a storyline with a black family.

The rhythm of the book is definitely catchy and can easily get kids on board with its rhyme. Davina also meant for it to be inspirational to kids, reminding them as they read that they could truly decide to be anything they want. The author does this without pressuring them to choose something at once but, instead, follow their passion.