Yesterday a parent came over to tell me how impressed she was by the book fair and that you did a fabulous job of selling the books to the children first. Or the subject might be the miner’s strike, the troubles in Northern Ireland, 9/11, Brexit or 2020s lockdown.

It covers everything from the legendary Flood of Noah, the early civilization of Catal Huyuk seven thousand years before Christ, through the treasures of Troy, Alexander the Great, the Romans, Seljuks, Byzantines and the Golden Age of the Sultans, to the twentieth century’s great changes wrought by Kemal Ataturk and the strong position Turkey now holds in the world community. It is important that we recognise our history, seek reconciliation and understanding, that we might move forward positively, compassionately and with equal opportunity. Reading David Olusoga’s Black and British last year cemented the personal recognition that my education and knowledge of this country’s history was severely lacking. Boakye’s captivating and deeply insightful book explores the key moments in Black history through twenty-eight powerful songs from ground-breaking musicians, from Lord Kitchener to Stormzy.The use of songs to mark the chronology adds to the power of the narrative, with the story of each artist told alongside the over-arching themes. If you believe Wordfence should be allowing you access to this site, please let them know using the steps below so they can investigate why this is happening. The portraits of each chapter’s main subjects are rendered with energetic brush strokes and in swirling patterns that capture the vibe of the music and words perfectly. This central ‘movement’ of the book draws us into the darkness that is the murder of Steven Lawrence. Groundbreaking musicians whose songs have changed the world and were a response to the political climate in which they were written and first performed.

This accessible, lively and informative book is ideal for KS3 and KS4 aged pupils who want to explore modern British Black history through musical history.Ngadi Smart is an award-winning Sierra Leonean visual artist based between London (UK) and Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), who specialises in illustration and photography. In the same vein as Ghost Town, UB40’s One in Ten looks at similar urban problems in Birmingham, which would neatly segue into Pass the Dutchie by Musical Youth – an interesting song to explore in the way that it made its child bandmates TV, radio and magazine stars overnight with a sudden and ubiquitous exposure that is very comparable to viral YouTube sensations today. I was at my last school for 4 years and we had ********* book fairs every term – and every term, I was disappointed by the narrow range of books. Lachlan Goudie brings his perspective and passion as a practising artist and broadcaster to narrate the joys and struggles of artists across the millennia striving to fulfil their vision and the dramatic transformations of Scottish society reflected in their art. Jeffrey Boakye explains how in this year, the British government passed the British Nationality Act.