Keep Smiling: A story of positivity and kindness from national treasure Dame Floella Benjamin

About Floella Benjamin

Floella Benjamin was born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad in 1949 and came to England in 1960 as part of the Windrush generation. She has enjoyed a successful career as a childrens presenter best known for the iconic BBC TV programmes Play School and Play Away and has also worked as an actress writer producer working peer and an active advocate for the welfare and education of children. Her broadcasting work has been recognized with a Special Lifetime Achievement BAFTA and an OBE. She was appointed a Baroness in the House of Lords in 2010 and a Dame in the 2020 New Year Honours list and is the Chair of the Windrush Commemoration Committee.Diane Ewen was born in Walsall in the West Midlands. She has always loved art and graduated from the University of Wolverhampton with a B.A. Honours Degree in Illustration. Diane likes to create illustrations that are hand-drawn in pencil which she paints in watercolour and acrylics before embellishing them using Photoshop but she also enjoys working directly on the computer screen to create her characters and designs. Diane loves the fact that the artwork is often the first thing that draws children into a book and is inspired by the use of vibrant colour so illustrating the Caribbean scenes of Floellas childhood was hugely enjoyable for her.