Coming to England is a picture book about the life of Floella Benjamin. Reading it will tell you about how she achieved her dream. It was a great collaboration and I'd love to write another book with Diane! When I look at illustrations I've got to get a warm feeling, and that's what Diane's do. Coming from Trinidad as a young girl the author was a bit dismayed to find England so different and life was not at all easy, nor were the people. She wonderedif she would ever feel welcome. However, with a loving family and preseverance she began to make a new life in a strange land I learnt that the time zones changed as people sailed to England to find work. Floella took every opportunity, tried her best, worked hard and, as she became a politician in the House of Lords, she met the Queen!

books about the Windrush generation | Fiction | The Top 10 books about the Windrush generation | Fiction | The

What made the history or the time it was set interesting? Jacob said he liked the book “my teacher sent me this because we are learning about different people.” Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2022-03-19 22:35:27 Bookplateleaf 0002 Boxid IA40404523 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier It was important to have someone who has gone through some aspect of what I was writing. When you have that personal experience, it's great to get an opportunity to share it with society through a book and make a difference. Floella Benjamin was a little girl who lived in Trinidad. Floella worked with an illustrator, Diane Ewen, to tell the astonishing story of Floella’s life, travelling from Trinidad to arriving in England. I learnt that England didn’t welcome Floella and her family but she didn’t give up. Which of the characters (if any) did you dislike and why? I didn’t like the children who were unkind to Floella.

I like the artistic attention to detail, the bold colourful style with the Historical fashion and the big petticoat skirts. It is very visually engaging and I learnt about Colonialism and Windrush as well as Trinidadian life. Even though it did not hide from the depressing subject of Racism, I was cheered up by the optimistic ending and would like to read more by this author. I am probably older than the age this is aimed at, but I think it would appeal to all ages. Gentleman was the journalist who first exposed the scandal and has rightly won awards for her reporting. The book is dedicated to Sarah O’Connor, a Windrush victim who died before publication and whose story is now so sadly familiar. As deportations continue, sending people to countries they haven’t known since childhood and have no ties to, this is a difficult read but one that shouldn’t be shied away from.

Coming to England: An Inspiring True Story Celebrating the

Discussion. Talk about the many different jobs that Floella has done: actress, author, businesswoman, politician, writer of children’s books, presenter and singer. Which of those jobs do the children think they would like to do - and why? What sort of person is able to do lots of different jobs? RAF officials welcome Jamaican immigrants at Tilbury, Kent, after their arrival on the Empire Windrush in June 1948. Photograph: PA You look at it holistically. I had to think very carefully about what I wanted very young children to know and grasp. Some of them know about moving to a new place, so they can understand the concept of moving. Some of them know about parents leaving, even if it's for a couple of weeks, so they know the emotional feeling that gives you.I do a lot of prison visits and when I talk to prisoners they often say, 'When I was a child this happened to me.' I've realised children's minds get affected at a very young age with happy things, sad things, traumatic and joyful things. So the picture books that young children are seeing are vital. The writer's autobiographical account of her childhood in Trinidad and her family's migration to Britain in 1960. The warmth and strength she gained from her family are strongly evoked, as are her feelings of bewilderment at the ignorance and racism they encountered. The book reads aloud well. This new edition is published to mark the 25th anniversary of its first publication. It has a reflective introduction by the author, fresh illustrations and afterword by the editor about the legacy of the Windrush Generation. Probably now the book that first springs to mind when people think of Windrush novels. A book, a TV series, and most recently a play at the National Theatre, Andrea Levy’s novel is wide in its range, showing the viewpoints of four main characters over several years and three continents. To achieve what she does without the novel feeling over-long is a feat of genius in itself. Yes, there are a couple of handy coincidences, but the pay-off warrants it and I defy you not to cry at the end. A book that I have re-read many times for the wonderful characters. When Floella grew up, she met the Queen. She became a Dame. Today she works as a politician at the House of Lords, trying to influence all our lives for the better. Everyone should read her inspiring story.

Coming to England / Young Quills reviews 2021 / Historical Coming to England / Young Quills reviews 2021 / Historical

I would have liked some more detail about how Floella became successful. She wanted to meet the Queen and she did! I would like to know more about this.

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If you do not know about Floella Benjamin, here is a great way to meet her. By reading her book, Coming to England, you really get to know her large family. In addition, EIGHT countries and territories will come off the red list from Weds 22 Sept at 4am, incl. TURKEY, PAKISTAN and MALDIVES. What made the history or the time it was set in interesting to you?Yes. I live in England but the story was set way before I was born. This is a good book for all ages. The detailed pictures add to the powerful story. Reading this will inspire people to try their hardest and achieve like Floella. Coming to England – An Inspiring True Story Celebrating the Windrush Generation by Floella Benjamin and illustrated by Diane Ewen is published by Macmillan Children's Books on 8 October.

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Was the plot exciting, thought-provoking, serious or light-hearted (or any mixture of these)?Sad. Floella was bullied. In a way, it was the same when I was writing my novel Coming to England for older children, which doesn't have even one racist word in the book. But if I was writing it for adults, then I'd use stronger words to give the real feeling of what it was like. You can't even tell 10 or 11 year olds what it was truly like. I wouldn't want to burden them with it. Floella's dad was a musician who played the saxophone in a jazz band and when Floella was a teenager she started singing in the band, which she loved. The book told me about the British Empire and about why people came to England from the other side of the world. I empathised with Floella’s worries about moving somewhere new with new people. It must have been hard too, to cope with the change of climate. London was cold and the people were cold as well. Being happy with her family again, helped her cope with the discrimination, she settled in and it felt like home. When Floella was a young girl, she travelled for 15 days on a boat from Trinidad to Southampton in England. This book tells her story.

Floella’s ambition was always to meet the Queen. When she was all grown up, she did. She became Dame Floella, working in the House of Lords to help others. This book is exciting because their father goes to England and they go after him. While in Jamaica she dreamed of meeting the queen, which she did eventually when she was older. I enjoyed the bright colours in the illustrations and the fact that they tied in well with the text.