"A beautiful poetic and visual delight" Joseph Coelho

A BEAUTIFULLY EVOCATIVE STORY OF A CHILD'S JOURNEY TO ENGLAND ON BOARD EMPIRE WINDRUSH, FROM AN INTERNATIONALLY CELEBRATED, MULTI-AWARD-WINNING POET AND AN EXTRAORDINARY DEBUT ILLUSTRATOR.

"you're stepping into history
bringing your Caribbean eye
to another horizon"

With one last hug, Windrush chid waves goodbye to his Caribbean home and sets sail across the ocean to Britain. In this powerful picture book, full of hope and promise, celebrated poet John Agard and illustrator Sophie Bass movingly evoke the journey made by children and their families as part of the Windrush Generation.

PRAISE FOR JOHN AGARD'S WINDRUSH CHILD:

Longlisted for the Jhalak Children's & YA Prize 2023
Longlisted for the 2023 Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration
Shortlisted for the Spark! School Book Award 2023
Longlisted for the Children's Literature Festivals Book Awards 2023

"A poetic story brought to life by Sophie Bass's colour-popping illustrations." Daily Mail

"A beautiful picture book with gorgeous illustrations ... I couldn't think of a better way for young children to learn about history and understand the world." David Walliams

"John Agard's hopeful poem commemorates a child's Windrush journey from the Caribbean, and bold and vivid illustrations sing of palm trees and mangos left behind, and new experiences, including pigeons and terraced houses and snow." 'One to Watch', The Sunday Times (Culture)

"Debut illustrator Bass's intricate, colourful, arresting pictures bring out all the resonances of Agard's spare text in this story of a child, a ship, a journey, and a new life enriched by the loves and memories of the old." Guardian

"A stunning picture book ... with the distinctive, vibrant art of Sophie Bass." The Bookseller

"A gorgeous bedtime read that will reward repeat readings, deceptively simple, emotionally deep." Joseph Coelho

About the Author

Poet, playwright and short story writer John Agard grew up in Guyana, where his love of language grew out of listening to cricket commentaries on the radio. He has won many prizes, including the Smarties Book Prize and the Queen's Gold Medal and in 2021 was awarded the prestigious BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award for an outstanding contribution to children's literature. John is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and his work appears in an AQA anthology for GCSE English Literature. With his partner Grace Nichols, John has edited the Walker anthologies A Caribbean Dozen and Under the Moon and Over the Sea, and he is the author of the Carnegie-longlisted My Name Is Book.

Sophie Bass is a British Trinidadian illustrator based in London. Having completed her BA in Illustration at Falmouth University in 2013, Sophie now works mostly in the music industry designing record covers and has collaborated with musicians such as Yazz Ahmed, Soweto Kinch and Innov Gnawa. Her work draws inspiration from music, social justice, mythology and symbolism. Sophie works by hand employing traditional techniques with gouache and pen, to create contemporary images characterised by strong figures, vivid colours and a distinctive style. John Agard's Windrush Child is her picture-book debut.

Reviews

a stunning picture book, paired with the distinctive, vibrant art of Sophie Bass

* The Bookseller *
A beautiful poetic and visual delight. John Agard's Windrush Child is both an important reflection on the Windrush Generation and a gorgeous bedtime read that will reward repeat readings, deceptively simple, emotionally deep. Sophie Bass' illustrations are beyond lovely, bold and vibrant that have you lingering on their splendour just as much as Agard's poetry has you contemplating the emotional landscape of finding a new home. * Joseph Coelho *
John Agard's hopeful poem commemorates a child's Windrush journey from the Caribbean, and bold and vivid illustrations sing of palm trees and mangos left behind, and new experiences, including pigeons and terraced houses and snow. * The Sunday Times *
Debut illustrator Bass's intricate, colourful, arresting pictures bring out all the resonances of Agard's spare text in this story of a child, a ship, a journey, and a new life enriched by the loves and memories of the old. * Guardian *
Sophie Bass' bold and vibrant illustrations - a vibrancy that reflects the culture and contribution made by the Windrush Generation - also help to tell the story. * BookTrust *


Awards
Short-listed for Spark! School Book Award 2022 (UK) and Indie Book Awards 2023 (UK) and The Diverse Book Awards 2023 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9781529501124
Author John Agard
Format Hardback
Page Count 32
Imprint Walker Books Ltd
Publisher Walker Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 400g
Dimensions(mm) 10mm * 255mm * 280mm