Engaging workshops, author visits and teacher training designed to create lasting impact beyond the classroom.
I’ve spent 36 years teaching Jamaican, British and Chinese children, leading classrooms, marking scripts and writing stories they love. Now I bring that experience to your school, library, stage, or home through 6 services.
1. FOR KIDS 6-13: “My Story” Writing Workshops
Problem : “I can’t write” / hates English class
Reward: 60 mins = 4-page story
2. FOR SCHOOLS + LIBRARIES: “Author Visit That Teaches”
Problem: Author visits are fun then forgotten
Reward: 3 weeks of lesson plans + worksheets
3. FOR TEACHERS + ECTs: “36-Year Teacher Masterclass”
Problem: Books home nightly. Parent stress. No class control
Reward: Mark less. Teach more. Sleep better
4. FOR EVENTS + CONFERENCES: Keynote + Storytelling Speaker
Problem: Boring lectures kill event energy
Reward: Laughs + 3 actions to use
Reward: Laughs + 3 actions to use
Talks: “36 Years 3 Lessons”
5. FOR KIDS + FAMILIES: “Story Time with the Author”
Problem: Reading feels like homework. Kids don’t see themselves in books
Reward: 30 mins of Stories- Jamaican stories and stories from across the globe + Q&A. Reading becomes fun
Best for: World Book Day, library month, church events, Zoom for diaspora
6.FOR PARENTS + SCHOOLS: “From ‘I Hate Reading’ to ‘Read Again!’”
The problem: Your child hides when it’s reading time. They guess words. They say “books are boring”.
My reward: In 4 sessions, they go from avoiding books to asking “Miss, can I read now?” using stories + games, not punishment.
Why Schools + Parents Choose Me
36 Years Teaching → I’ve taught the “hardest” readers. I know the tricks
Published Author → Kids want to read when the author shows them how
Jamaican + Proud → We start with their language + culture, not shame
Results, Not Theory → Every service ends with a tool to use.
Ms. Juliet | Year 2 Teacher | London UK
I teach a class of 22 children, and about 40% of them have Caribbean heritage. But for many of those born here, “Jamaica” is just something their grandparents talk about. It’s distant. It’s “yard”. It doesn’t feel like their story.
That changed when we read “Adventures in Beautiful Jamaica “by Winnifred Reid.
From the first chapter, my students were hooked. The stories don’t just describe Jamaica, they let the children ,live, in it. They hear the sound of drums, they taste bun and cheese and they meet characters who look and sound like them and their relatives.
What makes this book different for teachers is three things:
1. It builds cultural confidence
I have a student, born in London , who used to avoid answering when we talked about family traditions. After we listened to the story, he stood up in class and said, “Miss, my mother always cooks rice and peas and chicken. Peas grow on trees!” For the first time, he was proud to share his heritage. That is powerful.
2. It supports reading and listening skills
The writing is clear Standard English, so it fits our curriculum and comprehension work perfectly. But the Audio gives my struggling readers and EAL learners a second way in. They hear Jamaican English alongside the text, so they get the rhythm and meaning without feeling left behind. I’ve used it for guided reading, whole-class read-alouds, and even as a calm-down story at the end of the day.
3. It connects school to home
I sent home the “4-Line Heritage Story Frame” that comes with the book. The next week, three grandparents came into school to share their own yard stories. One grandmother brought in fever grass and showed the class how to make tea. Parents told me their children were finally asking questions about Jamaica at home instead of just being on their phones. That’s the kind of engagement every teacher dreams of.
Adventures in Beautiful Jamaica does what good children’s literature should do. It reflects children back to themselves, it expands every child’s understanding of the world, and it gives teachers a respectful, knowledgeable resource we can trust.
If you have Jamaican, Caribbean, or diaspora children in your classroom, or if you simply want to teach heritage with honesty and warmth, this book belongs in your library.
My class now asks, “Miss, can we go to Jamaica ?” And we do. One story at a time.
Highly, highly recommended.
Eli , Age 13 | Ghanaian | Born in UK | Year 8_
I’m Eli. My family is from Accra, Ghana. My mum bought a book called, “Adventures in Beautiful Jamaica”. I was like “Jamaica? We’re not Jamaican”
But this book isn’t even really about Jamaicans. It’s about a Chinese family who visited Jamaica on holiday and visited places like Dunn’s River Falls, Devon House and Bob Marley Museum. I read it anyway because I was bored and… it was actually sick.
What I liked is that I got to see Jamaica through their eyes. Like, they were tourists too. They didn’t know everything. They asked questions, they got stuff wrong, they tasted jerk chicken for the first time and made faces. That’s exactly how I felt when we went to Ghana last summer and my cousins were making me Baku.
The part at Dunn’s River Falls was my favourite. The children in the book were scared of climbing the waterfalls but did anyway. They held hands with other tourists to get up. That made me think of when my dad was scared of the canoe ride on Lake Bosomtwi back home. My little sister made him go too. It’s the same vibe.
I also liked learning stuff I didn’t know. I thought Jamaica was just reggae and beaches. But the book showed the gardens, the caves and how different people live there. There’s even a part that talks about the different people who came to Jamaica a long time ago to work. I didn’t know Chinese people lived in Jamaica too. It made me realize every country has more than one story.
I listened to the Audio on the bus to school. Hearing the Jamaican accent while the family was talking about jerk chicken made me hungry lol. I felt like I was on holiday with them.
So if you’re not Jamaican, don’t skip this book. “Adventures in Beautiful Jamaica” isn’t just for Jamaican kids. It’s for any kid who’s ever been somewhere new and felt confused and excited at the same time. It’s about being curious. And it made me want to visit Jamaica one day too.
7/10… nah, 9/10. Only because I was hungry after reading it