She Wore Red Trainers

Na’ima B Robert is an African Muslim woman of mixed descent who grew up in Zimbabwe. She sees writing for children as ‘writing a love letter to the next generation’. She writes to reflect experiences that are often unspoken, unexplored and uncelebrated and to show ‘the complexity and beauty of our struggles and triumphs as nonmembers of the dominant culture’.

She wants to disrupt the narrative that paints people of colour and their experiences as ‘other’, instead placing children at the centre of stories that reflect their lived reality. Her work explores themes of identity, belonging, faith, respect for difference and, ultimately, pride in all that makes each of us unique. Na’ima has also published under the name Thando McLaren. She lives in Mirfield, West Yorkshire.