Windrush Child: A Moving Tale of the Windrush Generation by Benjamin Zephaniah - Ages 9-12 - Paperback

Details:
Condition: BRAND NEW
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780702302725
Publisher: Scholastic
Age Range: 9-12

Overview:
Windrush Child is a powerful, moving novel by celebrated poet and author Benjamin Zephaniah, part of Scholastic's acclaimed Voices series exploring untold stories from Britain's past. Written for readers aged 9-12, it follows ten-year-old Leonard as he leaves Jamaica to join his father in 1950s England, confronting cold weather, unfamiliar food, and painful racism. Blending historical fact with warmth and hope, this paperback offers young readers an accessible, unforgettable introduction to the Windrush generation's real experience.

About the Book:
Leonard's story begins in Maroon Town, Jamaica, where hummingbirds visit the garden and life feels safe and familiar. Everything changes when he boards the Empire Windrush with his mother to join a father he barely remembers in Southampton. England is grey, cold, and strange: the food doesn't taste right, his father feels like a stranger, and school brings bullying and racism that Zephaniah portrays with unflinching honesty. Yet Leonard's determination to fit in, make friends, and build a new life shines through every page, carrying the story from the 1950s up to the present day, where Leonard, now grown, faces fresh injustice as one of the Windrush generation whose right to remain in Britain was later questioned. As the fifth title in Scholastic's Voices series, the book stands entirely on its own as a moving, character-driven read. Zephaniah, who lived through similar experiences of migration and prejudice, brings authenticity to every scene, balancing hard truths with humour, warmth, and hope. Teachers and parents praise the novel for opening honest conversations about migration, identity, racism, and belonging in age-appropriate, never preachy language. It is both a gripping personal journey and a valuable piece of social history, ideal for independent reading, class novels, or family discussion around Windrush Day.

Key Benefits:

• Written by celebrated, BAFTA-award-winning poet and novelist Benjamin Zephaniah
• Brings the real history of the Windrush generation vividly to life for 9-12 year olds
• Part of Scholastic's acclaimed Voices series of historical fiction
• Sensitively explores racism, resilience, and belonging in age-appropriate language
• Ideal for KS2/KS3 class reading, book clubs, and Windrush Day discussions
• A meaningful, thought-provoking gift for young readers who love history and adventure

About the Author:
Benjamin Zephaniah (1958-2023) was a British-Jamaican poet, novelist, and activist, born in Birmingham to Jamaican parents. He left school at 14 but went on to become one of Britain's best-loved performance poets and the author of bestselling YA novels including Refugee Boy and Face. In 2021 he won a BAFTA for Sky Arts' Life & Rhymes. Zephaniah drew on his own family's Windrush history to write with rare honesty and warmth, championing social justice throughout his celebrated career until his passing in December 2023.

Why You'll Love This Book:
Heartfelt, honest, and quietly powerful, Windrush Child gives young readers a story they won't forget and a piece of British history they need to know, told by a writer who lived it.

Please Note: Cover shown is the UK paperback edition; ISBN 9780702302725.