The Queen by Richard Brassey

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The Queen by Richard Brassey

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Category: Children's Non-Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Reviewed by Sue Magee
Summary: A non-sycophantic look at eh Queen and her reign is classic Richard Brassey style. Recommended.
Buy? Yes Borrow? Yes
Pages: 24 Date: April 2012
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1444001273

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Those of us who've been around for longer than the Queen has been on the throne tend to forget that not everyone knows about her history or who-is-who in the family. Richard Brassey has set out to remedy that with this easy-read, almost comic-style book about Her Majesty and there's lots in there in the way of fascinating information, some fun facts and (I'll confess!) a few anecdotes which left me chuckling, sometimes with and sometimes... er, well, I think we'll gloss over that bit, but let me say that this book is not at all sycophantic!

There's a brief history of the family going back to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Queen's great, great grandparents and we get a picture of the last time that she cried in public (gripe water, apparently cured the problem) and it's slightly unusual to see the Queen as the baby in the long white dress when we've seen several generations follow her. There's the story of her life with some of the sadder moments (finding that her beloved father had died whilst she was in Kenya) and the happiest (the times spent with her sister, parents and dogs).

There's a gallery of the twelve prime ministers who have served during her reign. Disconcertingly Gordon Brown is the one with a cheery smile and John Major, er, doesn't. Her children are there - Charles with Camilla (Diana 'died in a car crash' which does gloss over quite a few inconvenient facts) through to William and Kate. We finish with a few of the Queen's likes and dislikes. I'd suggest that if you have a beard, wear three-piece suits and brown shoes, are prone to petting corgis and making long speeches you should keep your distance!

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

If you'd like to see more from Richard Brassey then we have something which is particularly appropriate in 2012.

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Buy The Queen by Richard Brassey at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy The Queen by Richard Brassey at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
Buy The Queen by Richard Brassey at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy The Queen by Richard Brassey at Amazon.com.

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