Not Just for Black History Month Reviews: Books About the Windrush for the Primary Classroom Fabia Turner
Early years and primary educators should look beyond Black History Month as the sole opportunity to cram in learning about Black-Britons’ experiences. After all, their history is British history too and, as such, BlackBritish history should be spread more broadly throughout curriculum, as my young son astutely pointed out. As Windrush Day is fast approaching on 22 June, I wanted to highlight a few recently published core texts to support teaching about this significant event in modern British history, from early years to Key Stage Two.
Reception and Key Stage One Coming to England by Floella Benjamin, illustrated by Diane Ewen. Published by Macmillan Children’s (2020). In this inspiring picture book, adapted from her seminal autobiography of the same title, Floella Benjamin sensitively recounts her personal story 6
of moving from Trinidad to England with her family, as a child of the Windrush generation. On opening the book, you are instantly transported to Floella’s homeland. Diane Ewen’s rich endpapers burst with bold colours, evoking a real sense of the warm Caribbean climate and luscious plant life. Children in the early years will love spotting and counting the butterflies and lizards tucked among the tropical foliage. The lizard motif cleverly appears in most of the Trinidadian scenes, providing opportunities to practise prepositional language, for example, the lizard is on the chair, jumping into the river, and dancing in the air. Through the text and exquisite illustrations, we learn about Floella’s wholesome upbringing in Trinidad: the family’s substantial home, delicious fresh food, schooling, and outdoor play during the hot and wet seasons. Life in Trinidad was happy and contented, not riven by desperation and hardship as is often the blanket Anglocentric perception.
