Coming to England: An Inspiring True Story Celebrating the Windrush Generation
As seen:
By Floella Benjamin, and and, Joelle Avelino
avg rating
13 reviews
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Baroness Floella Benjamin’s classic memoir, Coming to England. With a foreword by the author and some additional historical information, this is the incredible story of Floella’s journey from Trinidad to London, as part of the Windrush generation, to the House of Lords. It is gloriously illustrated throughout by Joelle Avelino, perfect for readers aged 9+.
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 their island home of Trinidad to make a new life 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 of how courage and determination can overcome adversity.
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This was a biography about Floella Benjamin arriving in England as a child. It was interesting but not my favourite book to read.
I liked hearing about Floella because it was real. It was interesting to hear about a different country that is so different to England. My Mummy loved this book too because she says she remembers Floella from when she was a little girl and the end of the story made her smile very much.
Good for learning we are all different
l liked when Floella went to school at first they didn't like her. They've never seen black people before, but then they became best friends and one day when she was all grown up she met the Queen, it was her dream.
Me! Likey!
A book of hope and determination. Floella Benjamin shares her memories of her life, her journey to England and her early life.
Great book
Very interesting story about Floella past life.
I've really enjoyed this book and it's really shows racism clearly.
i really enjoyed this book and the story
I enjoyed this book but it was very sad reading about people being horrible to others because of the colour of their skin. Floella was very brave as was everyone in her family when they moved to England.
I have very many happy memories watching Floella Benjamin on television in the 1970's. Reading about her early childhood in Trinidad and subsequent travel to England to rejoin her family was a really interesting way to learn about the Windrush generation.
The book should be accessible to readers in Y4 and above. However, I would like to read this book aloud to the class. There is so much we could explore and discuss - especially as the population of my school is predominantly white.
This is the story of Floella coming to Britain as part of the Windrush generation.
When they arrive, it is not as she envisioned. People are not welcoming and the Queen wasn’t at the dock to greet them..
But then they settle in and finally, much later, she gets to meet the Queen
