Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah

Windrush Child Reviews

• 
  James Smith

  This is an incredibly powerful book that makes you stop and think. It’s written for children but it’s one of this books that everyone should read. The only thing that’s stopped it being 5 stars is that the ending is a little rushed, but then the last chapter comes back and hits a massive sucker punch. This is a really important read.
• 
  Jx PinkLady Reviews ♡ bookwormthoughts

  They say the best children's books are those that can be read and enjoyed by both adults and children and that is certainly the case for Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah. I decided to read this book because I was interested in finding out more about the Windrush Generation. It helped me to understand this area of our very recent history and the unfairness that evolved as a result of lack of understanding, knowledge and racism. An empathetic read that at times gave me goose bumps.
  
  I would recommend any one who reads to go back and reread the prologue at the end of the story, I derived so much meaning and so much feeling from doing that. I reread with my daughter and she too revisited the prologue and completely agreed with my thoughts on this.
  
  
  
• 
  Amber

  3.5 - very powerful but I wished it was longer so that parts of the story and characters could have been more developed.
• 
  Sophie Aldis

  I really wanted this to be good. I felt like some of the issues covered in the book were unnecessary like Leonard's dad's affair which didn't leave enough time to cover the Windrush Scandal properly. The 2018 Windrush Scandal felt like it was tagged on at the end in two pages. Such a shame.
• 
  Paula Street

  I’ve been meaning to read some of Benjamin Zephaniah’s writing for ages but never have until now. This is a YA book, and is very well written. I sped through it whenever I had chance to sit and read it. I love that there’s a warning at the front from the author that it contains strong language, but that it is important to understand the power of words as weapons, and that’s why the strong language is included. There wasn’t as much offensive language as I had anticipated, but there were some awful scenes. Once again I am both incensed by and ashamed of the behaviour and policies of the both UK government and the people who enact the systematic structural violence they promote. I cried more than once. 🤬😭🤬😭🤬
• 
  Zoey Emma

  Read this with the kids in school. They loved it and it created some great discussions in class. They weren't happy with the ending though.
• 
  Jenny Whiting

  This book really does stop you in your tracks and makes you think quite deeply.
• 
  Yas

  Blitzed through this book as the chosen read for my
  Year 7s book club. Accessible and heartbreaking, it’s a devastatingly good book, with kudos to the sucker punch ending.
• 
  Luce

  This is the book I'll be teaching my year 8's, so without going into teaching I wouldn't have ever picked this up. I'm so glad I did because it is such a powerful and important book for young people (and adults) to read. It breaks down issues of immigration, the windrush, and race relations in Britain and puts it into simple terms for children to digest some complex information. However in doing this Benjamin Zephaniah refuses to dilute the pain and danger which has historically accompanied Black history, and which continues to dominate everyday life in Britain. This was really special and impactful, I'm looking forward to teaching it and using it to facilitate useful conversations in class.
• 
  Marvin Thompson

  Benjamin Zephaniah, I salute you.
  
  I am the child of Windrush generation parents. As such, this book touched me in ways other books have not.
  
  I also think this is a book that Britain needs. An entertaining novel about a momentous period in our history.
  
  In this children's novel, we follow Leonard, from his childhood in Jamaica to fatherhood in his 70s in London. Along the way, we learn about Maroons, Teddy Boys and love. Love for his family and love for a country that sometimes seems to hate Leonard and other people with brown skin.
  
  Imagine if this book became a ‘must read’ for all secondary schools in Britain? Now the audiobook has been recorded, schools wouldn't even need to buy a class set of books. 7 minutes listening at the start of each English class with a further 3 minutes for questions ,/ reflections.
  
  This novel is for children, this novel is due adults, this novel is for all of us!
  
  Special mention to the audiobook narrator, Ben Onwukwe. His range of accents in this recording a delight!
  
  Side note: The narrator, Ben Onwukwe, started in the famous 90s TV show, London’s Burning. I also taught English with him in a north London school for one day. Memories.
• 
  Morag

  Most interesting and informative book about Leonard, who lives in Jamaica until he is ten then moves to London with his mother to join his father, who is making a better life for them.
  In school he has learned that he is British. He has studied British history and only learns Jamaican history from family members. Jamaicans are enticed to the U.K. by posters telling them that they will be welcome, that they will find work rebuilding the Empire, that they will find a better life. This is not at all what Leonard discovers on arrival. He is bullied and teased for the colour of his skin. His family has to live in a tiny room divided in two by a sheet and share a kitchen and bathroom with another family. His father is also bullied and insulted on a daily basis, while driving his bus.
  The descriptions are very immediate and well written. Everything is seen through Leonard’s eyes.
  The title of the story rather lets you know the ending so no spoilers there. It is however, still very shocking what happened to the Windrush children who had been told that they did not need passports because they were British. Shame on the British government!!! Shame on Theresa May!!!
  Worth reading!!
• 
  Graham

  On the day that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been sentenced to yet another year in prison, with possibly another year’s travel ban, I was given this book to read by my librarian. A simple story on the face of it, about a boy called Leonard who moved with his family from Jamaica to Manchester in 1957: grew up, worked, paid taxes, contributed to the UK, but because he did not have his own passport was locked up, in a shock ending to the book.
  This is a book about normal people wanting to improve themselves, and doing so in spite of the racism around them.
  From a writing point of view, it’s written simply: the power is in the plot not the writing so it’s more of a “this is a rubbish situation and justice needs to be done.” The fact that two years after the Windrush scandal the British Government is still shilly shallying about compensation whilst the victims (for that is what they are) are literally dying is an ongoing scandal sufficient for folk to look hard at those in charge, expecting them to do the right thing.
• 
  Barbara Henderson

  I would like to recommend Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah, a writer I have long admired for his poetry and his contemporary books for young people. The novel is about Leonard, a boy from Jamaica whose father sailed to Britain on the famous ship Empire Windrush after the end of the Second World War. Leonard and his mother reluctantly follow, leaving the boy’s beloved Grandma behind. Leonard is unprepared for the cold, both in the British weather and the hostile attitudes he encounters in so many aspects of everyday life. Leonard’s character gives us a real glimpse into the injustices faced by the Windrush generation and, unforgivably, their children, and I so admired their resilience. Historical fiction at its best, making us think about the country we were, the country we are, and the country we hope to be.
• 
  Jacqueline

  I couldn't put this book once I started it. Such an emotional roller coaster of a book.
  A story about Leonard being raised in Jamaica whilst his Dad is living and working in the motherland . Dad sends for Leonard and his mum to join him in Manchester.
  It is a story about living in Jamaica and then living in Manchester and the contrasts, some.obvious like the warmth and colours others not so obvious like the loneliness and the struggle it is a book about racism, about being let down and then about forgiving, but mostly it is a story about life.
  No spoilers but get your handkerchiefs ready for the end it will devastate you.
• 
  Emma

  They always say, children's books always have a strong message behind them. Windrush child is quite literally about a child who travelled from Jamaica to England through the Windrush era. Whilst it was short and quick, the concept was dark. The intense racism and hardship facing Leonard and his family was insane. I love Leonard, he was sharp and smart and always thought like a lion. His relationship with his mom and grandmother was beautiful, and his dad worked hard for his family. I do however wish there was more information or scenarios about Windrush rather than his father's relationship journey. This is the 2nd book I've read from Benjamin Zephaniah and I love it.
• 
  Michelle Mclean

  This story is told from the point-of-view of Leonard, a Jamaican boy who comes to England with his parents to help England rebuild and to improve his own prospects. Leonard chronicles his experiences of growing up in the face of racism. Some of the chapters are upsetting but it is handled very sensitively and provoked lots of discussion from my children. There is also lots of joy, like when Leonard discovers a love for music. Lost one star as the last quarter of the book felt rushed, covering Leonard’s adult years. The ending offers a shock and I hope there is a sequel.
• 
  Julie

  Windrush Child is the story of Leonard, a young boy brought to England from Jamaica by his parents, in search of a better life. The book charts the struggles that Leonard has to go through, adjusting to his new life and the challenges that he faces on a daily basis.
  
  The book jumps on in time quite regularly but I understand why it was necessary to bring the story up to date with the Windrush Scandal.
  
  An important book for everyone to read. Probably more suited to high school pupils but would be suitable for mature year 6 children.
• 
  Fiona

  Told from a child's point of view, this sensitive book exposes the full horror of the Windrush scandal and the reality of life for the thousands of immigrants who were encouraged to make a new life in Britain. These people overcame racism, abuse and sometimes, physical violence. Their contribution to rebuilding this country cannot be denied, so to be told that they were not citizens and had no right to stay here is a national disgrace.
  A book for children but very readable for any age.
• 
  A Severs

  Written in a very simple style, similar to that of Coming to England by Floella Benjamin, this is a super-accessible read for children aged 7/8 upwards, although there are themes, particularly the racism that, whilst we shouldn't be hiding these things from child, should be explored with an adult. Unlike the other books in the Voices series (all of which are good), this book, because of its contemporary time frame, packs a real emotional punch, particularly at the end.
• 
  Dan

  YA that reads like non-fiction. At times unflinching but compassionate and humane where the country and its people Leonard and his family relocate too sometimes aren't.
  
  (Sort of spoiler...)
  
  Without giving too much away, I guarantee you'll be embarrassed and ashamed of the actions of the British government upon reading the final chapter.
• 
  Aisha

  Leonard is happy growing up in Jamaica, until he and his mother set sail to join his father in England.
  He faces many challenges in this new and often hostile environment, while also trying to understand his parents and their personal struggles.
  
  Essential reading for everyone who is interested in the history and lives of immigrants.
• 
  Denise Forrest

  A young Jamaican boy Congress to the UK in the 1950s with his mother to be reunited with a father he doesn’t remember. The story follows him growing up in Manchester, on a country where racism is rife. It ends with the Windrush scandal, showing how many of the children of immigrants weren’t given British citizenship like their parents and faced deportation.
• 
  Carolyn

  Brings to a younger audience the injustice surrounding the Windrush scandal. The author uses the racial language of the time to illustrate the racism suffered by those British Subjects coming from the Caribbean in the 1940s/50s.
  
• 
  Stephen Connor

  A powerful reading of Leonard’s journey from Jamaica to England, following his father who came over on the Windrush. We see the racism, the discrimination, the difficulties, but we do see the kindness too. Sometimes.
  
  The ending is a sad indictment of where we are today.