Benjamin’s first book of poetry for children called Talking Turkeys had to go into an emergency reprint after just 6 weeks, no one could foresee how popular the book would be, it went to the top of the children’s book list and stayed there for months. At first he was not keen on publishing a book for children believing that there was just poetry, not children’s poetry or adult’s poetry, but he was soon convinced that young people did appreciate the fact that he was not afraid to write about the real world where there are bullies, guns, racism and war.
Being a passionate vegan he writes a lot about animals but these animals are not all smiley, happy creatures, some may just be waiting for slaughter or losing their habitat, and of course some may be having fun. Then seemingly from nowhere, in 1999 he wrote a groundbreaking novel for teenagers. ‘Face’ the first of four novels to date, proved that teenage boys would read if they have access to books that they can relate to. Zephaniah writes gritty, realistic novels about the lives of teenagers, these novels are directed to adults as much as they are to teenagers. He believes that for the most part teenagers know what they are going through, but adults need reminding, they have short memories.
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