I was thrilled to be asked last summer to host the launch of Malaika Rose Stanley's new book for pre teenage girls, 'Skin Deep.' Preview copies were sent to me last July and I recruited some Year 7 students to read the manuscripts. They were excited to get to read a book that was not yet published and the manuscripts themselves were attractive; A4 size with a colour cover page replicating the actual book cover. A few girls even finished the book before the term was up and really enjoyed reading it.
Yesterday Malaika visited EGA and we held the launch in the hall. Her audience were a mixture of Year 7 and 8, plus the Year 9 'Bookaholics' reading group. Rosanna had made a lovely banner, which Malaika liked so much she took it home with her and the 'Bookaholics' did a short introduction to the book, reading as the four main characters in the book. Khadra was the star with her French accent, which caused much amusement.
Malaika introduced her talk by wondering how she could follow in the footsteps of Michelle Obama, who visited the school in 2009. The answer is - easily. The girls thoroughly enjoyed her talk and asked and answered questions about female role models, what their achievements in life are and the qualities they value in a friend. It was a very inspiring session and Malaika also talked about her career as a former teacher and now a writer.
The reading from the book was the highlight for me, read in a thick Brummie accent, the books really came alive when read aloud. When Malaika stopped reading, one girl sighed 'Oh' out loud and I think she echoed the general feeling in the room; we didn't want her to stop! She obliged and read a bit more!
After the talk Malaika signed copies of her book which were available for purchase at a reduced price and there was a long queue at her desk, illustrating the success of Malaika and 'Skin Deep.'
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