Stripes Publishing ISBN:9781788952163 £6.99
What a wonderful and inspiring read this book is – it really does persuade children, of Upper KS 2, to try and succeed in life, and that is this book’s direct message. This particular biography is about the famous singer and personality, Beyoncé; however, there is a whole series of books about people who have really stood out in their field of work (Neil Armstrong, Jane Goodall, Harriet Tubman and Albert Einstein). I wasn’t initially that keen on reading this, but, with determination, it is an easy read with short sections within each chapter, and various interesting asides throughout the book giving more information on particular topics mentioned, for example, Barack Obama, Cadillac Records and Bonnie and Clyde. The only negative thing I would say is that, and I can see why the author would do it, the book is incredibly positive about her success being down to her talent and hard work, whereas an unbiased view might have included the huge amounts of luck that she has had along the way to make it to where she is.
The book takes you through Beyoncé life from the age of five to superstardom, explaining all the hard work she goes through, the setbacks and let downs that she had to survive. As a traditional biography it shows children the key features of this style of writing (glossary, sub headings, quotes, pictures, 3rd person etc) and, therefore, would be very useful if children were about to start a writing unit of work on biographies. With all the awards Beyoncé has won, children could design and make their own Grammy awards. Without doubt, her whole career has been a family affair: her mum designed and made her costumes, so children could do the same; her dad was her manager, so children could work out a maths challenge to do with budgeting for a world tour; and her sister was her dancer, so during PE children could make up dance routines. In geography lessons children could follow her tour around the world focuses on capital cities of countries she visits and other key objectives depending on their year group. Also, it would be a great book to read for Black History month as Beyoncé is a strong voice for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Jamie Marshall