by Radhika Natarajan & Chao Tayiana
illustrated by Alexander Mostov
 
Subtitled, “A Powerful Retelling of the British Empire Through 20 True Stories”.  An introduction details the British Empire,  its motivations, the methods of its imperial project, its key players, a double spread map of the empire and, finally, the impact on Indigenous communities including acts of resistance. This is followed by the main body of the text: 20 personal accounts of real life figures in first person voices, from Tejonihokarawa, a seventeenth century N American chief and diplomat, through to the twentieth century’s George Manuel, a Canadian activist. Along the way we meet Irish politician, Éamon de Valera, and UK activists: Claudia Jones, Sophia Duleep Singh, Catherine Impey and Olaudah Equiano.  The book end with accounts of independence from British rule and a generous glossary and index. 
 
‘An absolute treasure trove of history, which gives such a powerful sense of how far the British Empire spread its tentacles, how much destruction and cruelty it carried out …and then the resistance movements and the interconnectedness of those uprisings. Just EXCELLENT!’  (Fen, Letterbox Library staff). ‘Yes, an important book, well written with the information displayed in small chunks against an illustrated page…A profound wish that we make a better, fairer future for us all’ (Eileen Former Primary Teacher, Letterbox Library reviewer). Age 9-14, Hardback 60pp