I remember the first time we spotted a couple of "Grace" books nestling in our local library stacks. Instantly drawn to the stunning cover art, we couldn't help but investigate further.
Grace, the effervescent and vibrant star of "Amazing Grace" loves to play and perform, but in this tale she's unsure of herself when the school play - "Peter Pan" is casting.
Grace doesn't want to be Wendy - she wants to be Peter Pan.
"You're not a boy", one child in her class says. "You're black" another girl says. Grace's confidence takes a knock but thanks to her grandma's encouragement, Grace soon decides to give it her all!
Just look at the cover of this special anniversary edition! Once inside, you'll see some fabulous insights into how Mary and Caroline came up with such a fantastic character and such a brilliant set of stories for the Grace books (I had always assumed that Caroline's amazing artwork was drawn and painted from photos - so it was quite something to see her rough artwork and also 'meet' the real life Grace and her family who were the original models for the books).
This hugely positive and important tale is needed today as much as it was 25 years ago, it has not aged a bit (we love the fact that Grace will perpetually be this amazing busy and energetic girl around Charlotte's age, who just instils such joy in everyone around her).
If you've yet to meet Grace, definitely grab a copy of this anniversary edition as it's stunningly reprinted - and we know that you'll fall in love with her as much as we have too!
Charlotte's favourite bit: Grace's Grandma, a very wise and lovely woman.
Daddy's favourite bit: We need more books like this, many many more! Such a hugely important and utterly brilliant girl hero for kids today to look up to, and such a fantastic set of stories tackling the issues that young girls and boys face even today.
(Kindly sent to us for review by Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
"Amazing Grace"
Written by Mary Hoffman
Illustrated by Caroline Binch
Published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Release Date: 3rd September 2015