Coming to England: An Inspiring True Story Celebrating the Windrush Generation

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Floella says her mother was also very special to her and always told Floella that trying hard at school was very important. The book has also been been adapted into a BBC film, which can be a treat for well behaved children at the end of the day/week/term. A vibrant, evocative memoir from a familiar face as I was growing up, beautifully illustrated throughout with Michael Frith's watercolours. This is a short book, so you can rattle through the chapters; half concerned with Floella's upbringing and family of five siblings in Trinidad, and the other with her arrival and need for 'survival' in England, which was very different to her ideal of 'falling into the arms of someone you had been taught to love'.

It's perfect for bookcases everywhere and in classrooms. Teachers and children's group leaders could easily find creative ways of using this book, there's so much scope to be inspired from it to teach children of Trinidad through the memoir, the carnival, the food. There's also a lot of discussion about different topics that come through in the book too. It is as relevant then as it is for today's generation. Coming To England is Timeless! In spite of the initial cruelty, the Windrush Generation's values of hard-work, empathy and respect contributed significantly to making Britain one of the most tolerant multi-cultural societies in the world. Who is the main character in the story? How would you describe them? Why do you like that character? 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. Floella Benjamin is a much-loved writer, actress and presenter, who was made a Baroness in the House of Lords in 2010 and is an ambassador for the welfare and education of children. This moving and insightful memoir documents her childhood, from her birth in Trinidad in 1949 to her move to Britain in 1960 as part of the Windrush generation, and explores how these experiences have shaped her life.

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Floella has done so many jobs in her life. She's an actress, singer, businesswoman, politician, TV presenter and writer of children's books. Wow! Floella writes eloquently about growing up on a Caribbean island with her parents and five siblings, wonderfully evoking a sense of sunshine, love and laughter. She also speaks candidly of the hostile reception she receives on arrival in Britain, where she is seen as a colour rather than a person, and shows great resilience, determination and courage when facing this discrimination.

is reviewed between 08.30 to 16.30 Monday to Friday. We're experiencing a high volume of enquiries so it may take us Baroness Floella Benjamin is an actress, author, businesswoman, politician, writer of children’s books, TV presenter and singer. She was born in Trinidad but moved to the United Kingdom when she was 10 years old. She has talked about the racism that she experienced while growing up in the UK and how she found it hard to fit in. She is well-known as a presenter of children's TV programmes, such as Play School , Play Away and Fast Forward . When Floella left school she went to work in a bank, but what she really wanted to do was show business - acting and singing in front of an audience, either on TV or in a theatre. Floella went on to appear in many different shows, and when she was 27 years old Floella became one of the presenters of a children's TV show called Play School . It's one of the most popular children's TV programmes ever!Coming to England is an autobiographical account of Benjamin’s experiences of moving from Trinidad to England as a young child in 1960. Illustrations are provided by Michael Frith, which bring the scenes, settings and cultural contrasts into focus for the reader. The book vividly describes Benjamin’s family life in Trinidad where she brings the beautiful scenery and the rich culture to life. We then follow Benjamin as she and her siblings’ journey across the sea to England, where she presents an unsettling account of her experiences. The book discusses the racism she encountered from classmates, teachers, shopkeepers, and wider society, and starkly portrays the impact this had on her as a child, while discussing how she was able to overcome and thrive from adversity. Benjamin considers the impacts of colonialism, national identity, and racism in post-war society all from the eyes of a young child. Coming to England was first published in 1996, and since then has been adapted by the BBC for television, was added to the national curriculum list of educational titles in 2003, and in 2020 has been re-adapted into a picture book for younger children. Coming to England has been used frequently by teachers to introduce the topic of racism in Britain to younger children. The book sensitively, yet very truthfully explores and examines the theme from the eyes of a child, and is therefore excellent to use in the classroom as it brings to light an important issue that some children might otherwise be unaware of. Readers get to know a little of Dame Floella Benjamin's brothers and sister - Ellington, Sandra and Lester whose mother they call Marmie, in affectionate terms, who met Dardie aged 19, all of which I think is just lovely. The memoir starts with Life in Trinidad and it feels quite uplifiting in some ways and warm. There is much enjoyment for children to get their teeth into and so much knowledge to be gained about food and other parts of the culture. No matter where you're from, whatever your culture, it shows that some things are the same the world over, such as baking. This is one of the beauties of this book, it starts off showing that there are similarities in life, after all, who doesn't at the very least, like cake or ice cream? It has such a positive feel to it for children to read about that is heartwarming as it will make it easy then for children to warm to it. Then there's school life, so some of this will be familiar to children too, although there are some changes, but this is where it's interesting for children, and it was for me growing up too, as I grew up without the fear of the belt, whipping down on me, but in the 60's, 70's this seemed more like the norm.