Coming to England
As seen:
By Floella Benjamin, and and, Joelle Avelino
avg rating
23 reviews
Dame Floella Benjamin’s classic childhood memoir, Coming to England, is an inspirational story and a powerful reminder that courage and determination can overcome adversity. 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. TweetReviews
Tradition of England is explored
I loved that she got to meet the queen and Trinidad looked good
I did enjoy this book and it was fantastic to understand what it was like for the windrush generation moving to England from their beautiful homeland and the prejudices they faced at every turn. What struck me most though was their ability to push through all of this hostility and strive to be the best they could. Their strength was admirable.
Decent
A nice story about a refugee who defends herself very well. It shows you how powerful refugees can actually be.
This book was about the life of a wonderful young girl, Floella Benjamin, who came to England from Jamaica and learnt the ways of life here. It wasn’t easy though… she came to England during a time of racism and she struggled to fit in. A great read, very touching.
A great account of Floella's journey England from Trinidad.
Very interesting to listen to.
I read this as part of black history month reading with my mum.
I liked her pretty dresses
Heart warming story
I liked this book because it was fantastic as she dreamt of meeting the queen and she did. This book is like my granny’s story she also came to England from St Lucia at the age of 5.
This book was about a little girl who had a very hard life in Trindad with her three brothers and two sisters.At the start when she was three, she saw the Chinese dragon. She was so scared she screamed and ran away. Inside the house was her mom with her new baby boy. Floella was happy and so was her sister Joelle. Her Dad wanted to go to England but her mum didn't want him to go. So they fight all night even when the children were listening. So the mother decided he can go to England. All the children missed their dad because he played with them a lot. One day they mother wanted to see her husband. She left them with her sister. The children hated to stay with their aunty. They all started crying and try to get their fists out of their aunty' s hand. She was too strong for them. When their aunty took them too her house, she told them to do all the housework! One day, a letter from their mom said they could go to England!. They said goodbye and went on a towering boat. When they got of, they saw their mother! After they went off and into their new house. Their house was small because it was only one room. The next day she started school. The children were rude at first, but getting kinder. When was a young adult she had PE races and got 1st place. When her teacher told to read, she wasn't speaking proper english. Her teacher was angry. Floella came home crying. Her mom wasn't pleased. So the next day Floella tried her best. Her teacher was surprised! The next day of scholl she sung a song to her whole class.This story told us if your do a mistake try to improve it.
Brilliant book. Would recommend.
Very factual. I enjoyed finding out about her early lige.
Very touching and I liked the language she used to describe her life in Trinidad when she was younger. Recommend.
Well worth reading especially if you can link with listening to one of Floella Benjamin's inspirational talks which are excellent for children.
The colourful description of Trinidad, its culture are contrasted well with a very different side of the UK described during the Windrush years.
An important story with a moral of determination and resilience.
It was a true story a young girls adventure travelling to England from Trinidad. Sge achueved her dream if meeting the queen
The book told how it would feel like for people from outside England to come and their experiences although it was short .
This is a real story about an African girl and when her dad , mum and 2 of her brothers goes to England she and the rest of the children are living a hard life. When she finally reunites with her family she is the odd one out because of her colour. It is great for all age groups.
It was a factual book and I liked it because it told you what it was like to come to England in 1960 as a black person. It was interesting to find out what it was like to settle in England and how hard it was.
It was a really good book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It was educational it tells the story Of how West Indian people came to England. It tells the story of Floella’s childhood. I found it interesting her story of coming to England. West Indian people came to England they were treated badly. I would recommend this story to a friend because it is a really good book.
Love it! We did a presentation about it in school with quotes of it and it was super fun!
