This middle-grade book was gifted by the people behind the Rebel Girls series, so I thank them.
I’m no stranger to these books having reviewed one and then continually been gifted them thereafter in exchange of an honest review. You can find out more in the blurb and my review below.
Blurb
With fairytale-like stories about Greta Thunberg, Autumn Peltier, and Rachel Carson, Rebel Girls Climate Warriors: 25 Tales of Environmental Allies spotlights the world-changing work of women on the frontlines of the fight for climate justice. Meet conservationists, activists, water protectors, philanthropists, authors, and other women from all over the world who have stood up to polluters and used their amazing talents to protect the planet. Climate Warriors is part of the award-winning Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series.
Join Greta Thunberg for a climate strike. Plant a tree with Wangari Maathai. Stand with water protector Autumn Peltier. And turn trash into profits and independence with Isatou Ceesay. Rebel Girls Climate Warriors tells the stories of the ingenuity and commitment of these women and more, including Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei, Indigenous Ecuadorian leader Nemonte Nenquimo, and Thai landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom.
This collection of 25 stories follows in the footsteps of the New York Times best-selling series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. It is illustrated by female and nonbinary artists from around the world.
Review
The book follows the format of the others of a brief description and then a picture of the person it is referring to in illustration form. This time it focuses on those who have featured on the news and other mediums, but that’s not to say that whatever you do, however big and small doesn’t count, it does. This is often where these books fall down slightly. In saying that, the book ends with a small and useful bit (although by no means exhaustive list) about what people can feasibly do to help.
The people who are chosen have been chosen well because it isn’t always the most obvious people like Greta Thunberg or water activists etc, there are people from places you may not expect, who have shown care for the environment, such as people from politics and journalism and authors too. It is these people that make this book stand out more than it otherwise perhaps would, just because it is perhaps not what you think of first.
The information provided is short and to the point, covering a bit about what they do, who they are and their care about the environment and climate change and will capture the imagination of children and is a good talking point. The layout and tone as ever is well-pitched for the age group most likely to read this ever-growing series.
The Runaways, has it really stood up to the test of time? Absolutely and this is a gorgeous re-release of this wonderful page-turning adventure story. It even has a great quote by favourite children’s author – Dan Smith on the cover.
It’s a very memorable story, which is great for reading for pleasure. I snapped up the opportunity to review it because even I remember it and all the creative things our primary school teacher (primary 7, Scotland/year 6, England), came up with so we could write creatively and create our own plays. It lends itself beautifully to imaginations that run wild. It is just perfect for children who are reading books at Middle Grade level to escape into. Victor Canning, the author had quite a story to tell too. There’s a short paragraph about him after my review.
Find out more in the blurb and then onto my review. Thanks to Random Things Tours and publishers Farago for inviting me to review and for gifting me the book.
Blurb
On a night of wild storms, two troubled figures escape from captivity. One is a 15-year-old boy, Samuel Miles, a.k.a. ‘Smiler’, wrongly convicted of theft and sent to a young offenders institution. The other is a cheetah, Yarra, a restless resident of Longleat Wildlife Park.
Both are in danger from the outside world – and each other – but somehow their lives become inextricably bound up as they fight for survival on the edge of Salisbury Plain. A fast-moving and compassionate adventure story, The Runaways is the first book in Victor Canning’s classic children’s trilogy. Praise: ‘Victor Canning is one of the world’s finest story-tellers’ Good Housekeeping A delightful tale by a brilliant thriller writer’ Daily Mirror ‘Smiler proves himself to be a resourceful, resilient and very likeable leading character.’ Dan Smith, author of Big Game and Boy X
Review
Smiler (Samuel Miles, 15 years and 5 months old) isn’t into school. It just doesn’t appeal to him, so he runs away. He does get himself into some trouble here and there, starting in Bristol, England, where he lives.
The adventure takes readers to Longleat Safari Park, which is vast and beautifully described and really, all the writing throughout is excellent. The safari park is also where intrepid readers meet Yarra, who is a cheetah, who also wants to escape his confines and explore the great big world. There’s excitement and much trepidation in The Runaways that makes it quite the page-turner, that takes readers on quite the adventure and not just in the safari park, but also to where the army are and onto grounds where land wardens are.
The book is absorbing with great characters that I believe children will really like, and it was many years after its first publication when I first read it and reading it again, it is as relevant and as gripping as it ever was, with likeable characters who have to survive out in the wild. It’s relevant because it shows resoucefulness and resilience in times of trouble and having to do that or I guess the alternative would be to crumble, is as steadfast and necessary now as it ever was and will be, even in the future.
There is a spot of nostalgia for any adults reading this by way of Woolworths, which of course doesn’t exist in the UK in physical stores anymore, but essentially, it is wonderful that this book has been republished for a whole new generation of children, who I believe will get a lot out of it too.
Book 2 is Flight of the Grey Goose, where Smiler is still on the run and jumps on a train to Scotland and sounds just as exciting and another great adventure for readers to persue.
About the Author
Victor Canning was a prolific writer throughout his career, which began young: he had sold several short stories by the age of nineteen and his first novel, Mr Finchley Discovers His England (1934) was published when he was twenty-three. It proved to be a runaway bestseller. Canning also wrote for children: his trilogy The Runaways was adapted for US children’s television.
Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls – 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed The World By Elena Favilli
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
This is an interesting, informative book and the latest in this series, which is good for dipping in and out of for Middle Grade readers, no matter where you’re from or your ethinicity or background, there is something for everyone.
Blurb
The latest installment in the New York Times bestselling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series, featuring 100 immigrant women who have shaped, and will continue to shape, our world.
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World is the third book in the New York Times bestselling series for children. Packed with 100 all-new bedtime stories about the lives of incredible female figures from the past and the present, this volume recognizes women who left their birth countries for a multitude of reasons: some for new opportunities, some out of necessity.
Readers will whip up a plate with Asma Khan, strategize global affairs alongside Madeleine Albright, venture into business with Rihanna, and many more. All of these unique, yet relatable stories are accompanied by gorgeous, full-page, full-color portraits, illustrated by female artists from all over the globe.
Review
This series of books have been taking the UK by storm. Children have been lapping these non-fiction books up. This is the latest in this series. It takes a look at 100 immigrants across the world who have wide and varied occupations, such as chefs, psychoanalysts, sports people, fashion designer, artist, actress/songwriter, paralympian, journalists, politicians, writers, spies, scientists and many more… who have acheived greatness in some form or another. It’s a biographical book, that presents itself in some ways as a bedtime story would, with “Once Upon a Time” in its narrative, before presenting itself in the normal nonfiction way with its facts, which are not too dense, making this a good read for children and they can enjoy dipping in and out of at leisure.
It is well organised with the person’s name and date of birth and death, what they’ve achieved, sometimes how or what event in their lives inspired them to do something that no one had invented or to bring something new to a particular industry, a bit about what went on in their lives aside from this and where they immigrated to. Some names may be more familar than others, such as Anna Wintour – Editor of Vogue for example, being pretty well known around the world for fashion. It also introduces children to people who are immigrants, who they might not be aware are an immigrant to a particular country.
Perhaps less well-known to children may be Chinwe Esimai – Financial Executive, but she also has something important and positive to say too. Whether you’ve heard the names or not, this book is positive in their own experiences to pass onto younger generations. It is perhaps even better that there is a whole variety of people from across the world and occupations mentioned. They’re all high-flyers who, in their own unique ways, can be seen as positive role models. What it doesn’t show however, and this series doesn’t particularly, is how people don’t always make it to the top of their career or become famous for something, but can still be a role model and still do well in life. Going back to the positive, it does however, demonstrate that people do have opportunities no matter where you’re from or your ethinicity or background. you may well come up with an amazing original idea or be someone who either lots of people or a few people look up to and be an inspiration to someone, no matter who you are or what your background is.
For many children, this book will provide inspiration and show that they can aim for something positive in their lives and that not everything has to be seen as a barrier. It shines with postivity instead of being full of negativity. It’s a book that feels informative, enlightening book.
It will provide children with aspiration and inspiration and shows a positive light. It shows that change can sometimes happen and has been for centuries. The people in this book are from the present and past times, each one with a few short paragraphs with a quirky illustration of them and quote.
Floella Benjamin, I am sure a lot of people will have heard of her. I certainly remember her in Playschool, probably nearer the end of that series. Hers is perhaps the main name I remember as she captivated my childlike imagination. Now she is made a Dame and has been in parliament and done more good, so to have the opportunity to review her book is just astounding and a big honour! This isn’t just an exciting book, because I’m picky about contents of books, no matter who is writing it), and this is one excellent book that is informative and has a lot of colour and life to it that makes it absolutely fascinating to read about travelling between Trinidad and England. Coming to England is great for Middle-Grade readers and is being re-released. She first wrote it over 20 years ago and then it was published again in 2016 and now on 15th April, it is ready for this new generation of children to enjoy and is a very special 25th Anniversary Edition you can buy now. 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!
As I write this and my full review, I find my fingers flying across the keyboard in excitement in what I found within the book, which is a memoir that is incredibly well-written for children and is as relevant today as it was in yesteryear.
Thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books/Pan Macmillan for gifting me Coming To England.
Find out more about this special 25th Anniversary Edition of Coming To England in the blurb and my full review and buy links.
Blurb
This 25th anniversary edition of Floella Benjamin’s classic memoir, Coming to England, includes a foreword by the author and some additional historical information. It is beautifully illustrated by Michael Frith.
Floella Benjamin was just a young girl when she, her sister and two brothers arrived in England in 1960 to join their parents, whom they had not seen for fifteen months. They had left the island paradise of Trinidad to make a new home in London – part of a whole generation of West Indians who were encouraged to move to Britain and help rebuild the country after the Second World War.
Reunited with her mother, Floella was too overwhelmed at first to care about the cold weather and the noise and dirt from the traffic. But, as her new life began, she was shocked and distressed by the rejection she experienced. She soon realized that the only way to survive was to work twice as hard and be twice as good as anyone else.
This inspirational story is a powerful reminder that courage and determination can overcome adversity.
Review
With a brilliantly coherent foreward, that is a Must Read, (I say because I know that some people skip over these parts and miss a great deal), it gives an insight for what’s to come, with some of the history and circumstances laid out. The entire book is hugely interesting and many children will be able to relate to so many aspects themselves or learn so much from it and will (hopefully) see that moving can be challenging, especially to a different country and what can be faced and also how challenges can be overcome. They will also (hopefully) learn that humans, whatever their race etc don’t need to be mean to each other (putting it politely) and learn tolerance and also learn something about the Windrush Generation. It is a book that may inspire and is written in such a way that children will be able to get into easily and understand immediately and may prompt curiosity and questions and thoughts. Floella Benjamin, with her new foreward proves she’s still got it when it comes to children and young people, to reach out to them and their level.
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.
There is the fun and spectacle at the carnival and there are some great illustrations of this, as there are throughout the book. Between that and church life, children will be able to see the British (and other countries) influences.
The reasons of creativity as to why people were moving out of Trinidad to England are fascinating and England seemed perfect for creating styles of music, such as Jazz etc that weren’t so popular in Trinidad. The memoir takes readers on a real journey of life and even to the crossing of the sea, which is great, I was glad this wasn’t missed out as it seems so pivitol and adds more to the story, instead of just landing in England without this part and I think children will be able to also feel the excitement (as I do, thinking of this book as a child might), for the family to make it across the sea safely. The atmosphere really comes through and carries the story across those waves and onto the train when the ship meets the land. The book is truthful and shows those natural anxieties during the trip.
There’s a stark turning point of the book when the family reaches England, with the changes in colour and increased traffic and the way people behaved towards them, which is far from pleasant and children will either be able to relate to or sympathise with and recognise this, it also shows resilience and how people lived in certain areas and what was endured. The book however, has another turning point that will give hope and brightness and also enters the family’s grown-up lives so readers can read about what happened next. There is also a bit about The Windrush Generation in general which children can learn much from in just a few pages. So, yes, unfortunately due to the world views at the time etc, she, like lots of others within the Windrush generation had to work twice as hard, but it is not all as harshly written as that sit-up and take notice blurb, it does have some lightness, It is detailed but refrains from overly complicating things. It’s a book for today’s generation and generations to come with its timeless themes and it is properly interesting and is a surprising page-turner, not least because who doesn’t care about Dame Floella Benjamin? But you care about her, her family and the whole windrush generation and hopefully everyone will see everyone as just being human and bring some humanity, no matter how small it is and just some peace and live and work together and see differences, but also similarities and find ways to not segregate or anything like that. This book could provide some hope for the future as adults may well read this with their children too, no matter where they come from, what their race is. It is relevant for everyone. It is about one family but is further-reaching than that…
Victor Canning was a prolific writer throughout his career, which began young: he had sold several short stories by the age of nineteen and his first novel, Mr Finchley Discovers His England (1934) was published when he was twenty-three. It proved to be a runaway bestseller. Canning also wrote for children: his trilogy The Runaways was adapted for US children’s television.
The latest installment in the New York Times bestselling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series, featuring 100 immigrant women who have shaped, and will continue to shape, our world.
Bookmarks and Stages by Lou 