By Benjamin Zephaniah (author) , Onyinye Iwu (illustrator)
"A vibrant, joyful celebration of the dreams and achievements of one of the Windrush generation"
Paperback In Stock £7.99 £7.19
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Telling the real-life story of Mona Baptiste, a Trinidadian singer who was brave enough to follow her dreams and ambitions across the sea on the Emperor Windrush. With gloriously evocative, almost technicolour illustrations, full of life and movement, we follow Mona as she grows up on Trinidad and her growing passion for singing.
She sings at festivals and carnivals and seeing an advertisement for the Windrush sailing, she persuades her parents that this is what would make her dreams come true. In England she started singing everywhere ‘so people would get to know my name’. She sang in clubs, on radio and television and became highly celebrated in Europe.
Sometimes life was tough and sometimes she had ‘ to be quite strong’ but this is a very positive inspirational story of a girl who fulfilled her dream. ‘ I wanted to sing for the whole world,/ and I wanted to sing for me,/That’s why I got on the Empire Windrush/ and sailed across the sea’ The rhythmic text is equally evocative, full of the cadences and musical lilt of the Caribbean.
Providing a brilliant aspirational role model and a useful support to history and diversity collections, this is published in good time to celebrate Windrush Day on 22 June.
A powerfully moving and beautiful picture book about the voyage of HMT Empire Windrush from national treasure, Benjamin Zephaniah.
Read the full description
The hopes, dreams and bravery of the Windrush generation are expressed in this vivid story through the real-life experiences of Trinidadian musician, Mona Baptiste.
Written as a brand-new poem by Benjamin Zephaniah, the book is beautifully illustrated by the extraordinary artist, Onyinye Iwu.
Benjamin recently won a BAFTA for his Sky Arts show, Life & Rhymes, a showcase of some of Britain's finest poets This book is perfect for teaching young children about inclusivity and diversity
Praise for Windrush Child:
'An invaluable story for any young readers who enjoy adventure and want to learn more about the Windrush generation's experience. Essential reading' Alex Wheatle
Dr Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah Benjamin Zephaniah was born in Birmingham and then spent some of his early years in Jamaica. He came to London when he was 22 and his first book of poetry for adults was published soon after. He appeared regularly on radio and TV including a Desert Island Discs appearance, literary festivals, and has also taken part in plays and films. He was most well-known for his performance poetry with a political edge for both children and adults and gritty teenage fiction. His collections Talking Turkey, Wicked World and Funky Chickens broke new ground in children's poetry. He is the only Rastafarian poet to be short-listed for the Chairs of Poetry for both Oxford and Cambridge University and has been listed in The Times' list of 50 greatest postwar writers.
He has sixteen honorary doctorates and the Eailing Hospital in west London has named a wing after him in recognition of his work.
Benjamin was passionate about issues that were both global and local, and his work focused on themes such as human rights and protecting the environment. He was widely considered to be among the first poets to address the climate crisis.
Benjamin died on December 7 th 2023 at the age of 65.
Photo credit Adrian Pope
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A powerfully moving and beautiful picture book about the voyage of HMT Empire Windrush from national treasure, Benjamin Zephaniah. The hopes, dreams and bravery of the Windrush generation are expressed in this vivid story through the real-life experiences of Trinidadian musician, Mona Baptiste.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me and determined it is suitable for children aged 5-8 years old
We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me features in the following genres: Featured Books for 7+ readers, Recommendations, History, Children’s / Teenage: General interest, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, People / Places, Stories in Verse, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Featured Books for 5+ readers
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me was written by Benjamin Zephaniah and published by Scholastic
We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me has 24 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
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