A Hero Like Me

A Hero Like Me is inspired by the events of 7th June 2020, when a statue of Edward Colston was pulled down and thrown into Bristol Harbour. It's a ground-breaking picture book that provides important lessons and gives children an example of a hero that's just like them.

A Hero Like Me is inspired by the events of 7th June 2020, when a statue of Edward Colston was pulled down and thrown into Bristol Harbour. It's a ground-breaking picture book that provides important lessons and gives children an example of a hero that's just like them. On 7th June, 2020, Jen Reid attended an anti-racism protest in Bristol. During the protest, a statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston was toppled and thrown into Bristol Harbour. Despite being afraid of heights, Jen spontaneously felt compelled to climb onto the empty plinth and raise her fist high above her head. On the morning of 15th July, a statue of Jen by Marc Quinn was added to the empty plinth. It was called A Surge of Power and it gained national attention for the 24 hours it was in place, and beyond. A Hero Like Me is a picture book that empowers children to have courage to stand up for what is right and be their own hero. It shows every child that they have a voice in their community and a say in who is on their streets. That they too have power, just like Jen.

About the Authors

Jen Reid grew up in the historic city of Bath, the youngest daughter of Windrush immigrants. Her experiences of racism growing up were first-hand. From being the only Black child in her local primary school in the 1980s, where Jen fully understood what it was like to face inequalities and where racial slurs were commonplace, to moving to London in the 1990s and facing the daily microaggressions that black women suffer in the workplace, throughout her life, Jen has experienced the everyday racism that is ingrained in our society.

Angela Joy is an author, substitute teacher, Girl Scout Cookie Manager, Japanese gardener, 5th grade book club moderator, and music lover. She is the co-founder of the McGaugh International Culture Club. She lives in Southern California with her husband and two children, but will always call Minneapolis home.

About the Illustrator

Leire Salaberria was born in Andoain (Spain) in 1983. Currently, she lives and works in San Sebastian. She has majored in Fine Arts in Bilbao and studied a postgraduate in Children Illustration in Barcelona. Leire has exhibited her artwork in different countries around the world. Her work has been selected to appear in Bologna Childrens Book Fair 2012, IV Ibero-American catalog of illustration 2013, 2014, and the Sharjah International Book Fair 2013, 2014. Since 2011 when she published her first book, shes illustrated several books in Italy, Mexico and Spain. At the moment, she continues to illustrate childrens books, wich is her favourite type of work.