by John Agard
illustrated by Sophie Bass
 
A child and his parents board the Windrush, wave away to palm trees and set out on rolling, blue water seas. They think back to “storytime yard and mango mornings” and look forward to a promise of “new beginnings”. But will they find them? Settled in England, Windrush child writes a letter to Grandmother, telling her about their sea adventure and their new life, flying kites and building snowmen in the park. Look closely at the illustrations and the child’s excitement and hopes play out against a background of a mixed reception.
 
What a treat to have this collaboration between Trinidadian-British illustrator, Sophie Bass and Guyanese-British poet and children’s author, John Agard, recipient of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry (2012) and BookTrust's Lifetime Achievement Award (2021). The richness of Agard’s 2002 poem is wonderfully extended by Bass’ illustrations, her gouache and pen technique launching vivid shapes and colours. This is a picture book which really does the work of picture books: skipping between text and illustrations, effortlessly, to tease out meanings.  As the Books for Keeps review says, “this is picture book play at its finest” (Mat Tobin, March 2022). A backnote gives information on the Empire Windrush’s 1948 arrival at Tilury Docks. 
 
‘The illustrations, animation style and colour palette are beautiful. The drawings really bring the story to life’ (Nicole, young Letterbox Library reviewer). Age 4-8, Hardback 24pp
 
Themes: Black History