Thanks to Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this beautiful book for review – as always, opinions are entirely my own.
From the Publisher:
A dazzlingly illustrated collection presenting the extraordinary life stories of fourteen bright stars from Black British history, from Tudor England to modern Britain.
Brought to life through hand-painted illustrations by award-winning illustrator Angela Vives, this important and timely book from author and educator J. T. Williams brings the lives of fourteen shining stars from Black British History into the spotlight, celebrating their remarkable achievements and contributions to the arts, medicine,
politics, sport and beyond.
Featuring a constellation of iconic individuals – including storytelling freedom fighter Mary Prince, football star and World War I soldier Walter Tull, and Notting Hill Carnival founder Claudia Jones – ‘Bright Stars of Black British History’ shines a light on the courage, resilience and talent of remarkable individuals who have left a lasting mark on our collective history.
My Review:
The first thing that struck me about this book – way before the interesting stories and the rightful reinstatement of figures written out of history – is just how beautiful it is. The illustrations are lovely, packed with warm tones and eye-catching detail. Each chapter also has its own unique and colourful border, making it easy to navigate within the book. The pictures are really gorgeous – they’d sell this book to me alone!
However, the stories accompanying the illustrations are also engrossing and well-written. This is obviously a children’s book aimed at the upper end of primary school, I think, but there’s still plenty for adults to enjoy too – I’d have loved reading this with my own kids (if they weren’t huge teenagers and sadly beyond the reading with Mum stage!)
In fact, I learnt about a whole host of historical figures that I knew nothing about previously – including John Blanke (trumpeter at the Tudor court – see pictures below), Mary Prince (freedom fighter) and Una Marson (writer and activist). Each chapter introduced (in chronological order by year of birth) one of fourteen fascinating lives – and I’m so embarrassed that I’d only heard of two of them previously.
The book is divided into four historical sections, although most of the stories are either Victorian or Modern era. The ‘gaps’ between the eras are filled in with introductory and contextual notes, e.g. the Victorian section is prefaced with explanations on slavery and colonialism. It helps to give more of a sense of a continuous narrative, rather than the 14 stories in isolation.
So many of the stories were so utterly inspirational that I think a reader would be hard pressed to find favourites. I particularly enjoyed the Una Marson story because the English teacher in me loves a good yarn about how creativity and writing can change lives, plus her feminist credentials were absolutely first class! It’s truly awe-inspiring that someone can overcome so much difficulty and still be determined to use her battle to highlight the challenges of other women.
For younger readers, there’s a handy glossary at the back, plus lots of bibliographical references for us older people too. This really is a lovely introductory book about Black British history for all ages.
I’d recommend this book to any budding historians aged about 8+ – I think it could be read with help to begin with as there are some quite complex ideas and vocabulary in there. However, there’s lovely, rich language choices for older readers too – there’s much to enjoy whatever your age and level of prior knowledge. Plus those fabulous pictures to appeal to all!
The Author and Illustrator:
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