1. I  enjoyed this book, it was interesting because it describes in great detail the characters and settings. Also there is some horror when Sarah's family dies in an attack during the night (Sarah was the only one in her family who survived). this was sad because she lost her Mum, Dad, sisters and Brothers. I was especially sad because I know how it feels when you lose someone important that you love and have been with since you were a little baby.

There were two specific characters which I liked a lot; Queen Victoria and Sarah Forbes Bonetta. Sarah is a Dahomian girl who originally lived in Africa, but when she arrived in England she had a completely different life compared to Africa. I also liked Queen Victoria because when Sarah's family died, Queen Victoria treated Sarah like her own daughter and gave her presents. There was a specific event that I really liked which was when Sarah gave birth to her first child ‘ Victoria Bonetta Davies ‘ which was named after Queen Victoria. Unfortunately, there was also a specific event I didn't like which was when Sarah suffered a terrible disease called ‘Tuberculosis' and passes away.   

I think that the book ‘An African Princess' is realistic because when Sarah travels to England, she met Queen Victoria and that describes that it was in the past. I know that it is set in the past because during that time Queen Victoria ruled and now Elizabeth II rules the UK.  I want to read more about history because you never know what happened when you weren't born.        

I would want to read more History books by Walter Dean Myers because the books he writes have a lot of details and vocabulary. I would recommend this book to other people who like History and also want to learn more about the past and what happened during Queen Victoria's reign. I would give this book a rating out of 10/10 because I really liked the way it set out fully the detail describing each setting, character, event and place.      

by , Kristine Huang,  age 10, Year 6

2. This book retells the story of how a young girl from Africa travelled with a man determined to stop slavery, Mr Forbes. Mr Forbes returned to England with which he brought a girl he named, Sarah Bonetta Davies. She was captured by the enemy, King Gezo of Dahomey and the Dahomans and her parents were brutally killed in front of her very own eyes. For poor Sarah it must have been a heart-breaking experience. She was then imprisoned and was going to be sacrificed in a bloody ritual but Mr Forbes, disgusted about how a respectful King could assassinate a young lady saved her by negotiating with Gezo.

This was a very emotional story, full of sorrow. However it was also really intriguing and I would recommend it to 11-14's because I feel younger children may not be able to understand the history of the slave trade and the big impact it had on Africans. Older children will have learnt and have more knowledge about this treacherous slaughter, which means the book will mean more to them.       

By, Enerel

3. I really enjoyed this book. If I were to sum it up in three words it would have to be: emotional, touching and historical. One character that shone of all other characters would have to be the African princess herself, Sarah Bonetta Davies. She is an orphan and is rescued from the slave trade by Commander Forbes. He takes her to England where she becomes Queen Victoria's favourite. Although she is forced into early marriage, she still has a good life, teaching and caring for her new born child, Victoria Bonetta Davies (named after the Queen). Unfortunately Sarah suffers from a disease called tuberculosis and passes away and her child's god mother has to look after her.  This solidly researched biography will enthral all readers. The clear descriptions of the characters really bought this period of history to life and even though it was sad at times I would recommend it to other children of my age.      

By Jesse

4. This book is set in 1848 and all about a girl called Sarah Forbes Bonetta, who is sadly caught up in the slave trade. When Sarah finds herself very close to death an English man called Commander Forbes saves Sarah's life. She is taken to England with the commander where she is introduced to the Queen. A move that is truly life changing...

I found this book especially good because it got more and more exciting as I read it. It showed me what life in the Victorian times was like for lots of different people, the characters were really interesting and with every chapter I remained very curious to find out what would happen to them.

I would recommend this book to any child my age who wants to know more about the slave trade and the Victorians. 

By Zaynah 

5. This book is about a girl who was a young prisoner. Marks on her face symbolised that she was royalty. She was then given to the English Navy Captain as a present for Queen Victoria. He was told Sarah, the African prisoner, would live with him. After spending some time in England, meeting with the Queen and her family, going to school and learning how to speak English, Sarah fell ill.  The book was ok but not for me. This book waffles on a little bit so that makes it a bit boring. It also uses Sarah's name quite a lot instead of replacing it with a pronoun. There is not a lot of description.

By Bet

6. Unfortunately I did not like this book because it waffled on for far too long. I did enjoy a few parts of the book but not a lot. Out of a score of 10 I would rate this book 5/10. There were some moving, touching moments but as I said before I didn't like the book and it was too waffly to enjoy.

By Neve

7. I found the characters in the story had very unique personalities. Sarah Forbes Bonetta (Davies) was my favourite character, she was also the main one. The reason for this was because the description in the book described Sarah as a mature, sensible, responsible and aware person. I really enjoyed hearing about Sarah's life. I also liked Queen Victoria; it was fascinating how she had a special bond with Sarah, from when Sarah was five to until she died. The relation between Sarah and Queen Victoria was passed down to Sarah's first child, Victoria, (named after her godmother, the Queen).There were some other characters that I found that I was very curious to find out about. (e.g. Captain Forbes, the man who saved Sarah from getting killed).

The plot really grabbed my attention. I really felt as if my eyes were glued to the book at particular bits. Some of those bits included when Sarah was about to get killed at age five. The tension really built up, I really wondered what would happen in certain situations. I also felt feelings for the characters, I felt as if I was there as if I had witnessed it. The part when Sarah married James Davies upset me a little. It says in the book that Sarah felt that she was marrying a man she could never love. I would change that part. The part that I liked best was when Sarah saw a sword in a picture when she was about to have her picture taken when she had just came and was new to the palace. She screamed, ‘'Cut head off!'' for Sarah had learnt that swords were for cutting off heads. There was one bit when Sarah was sent back to Africa because the English weather was believed a hazard for her health. I thought that was a little bit silly because a few months later she came back to England. That was another part I would change. When Sarah caught TB, I found myself feeling like I never wanted to stop reading the book. I was desperate to see what would happen next.

There are some events and characters that I have missed out. For instance when Princess Alice (one of the Queen's children) got married to Prince Fredric William of Prussia. A funny, but sad bit was when Prince Albert had died and Sarah had just arrived back from Africa and the whole palace was mourning. So Sarah had to write a letter to her old foster mother (Mrs Forbes) to send her a black dress before the Queen sent for Sarah. Princess Alice had a special place for Sarah, they were very good friends and in addition to that the same age.

I would highly recommend this book for everyone. It is suitable for the ages eight or nine to thirteen. It is a very enjoyable book and also teaches you a lot about history. There are no unrealistic parts and all descriptions were strong; there were lots of adjectives and adverbs. The vocabulary was very advanced. One of my favourite things about this book was the variety of vocabulary. For me vocabulary is important and this book had amazing vocabulary. It reached my expectations and maybe a little bit higher. There are also extracts from Queen Victoria's diary and some of Sarah's letters. The book also had some pictures of appropriate subjects (e.g. some of Sarah, some of Queen Victoria and others).

By Sophia

8. The African Princess is an articulate book , filled with fantastic facts that is followed by a young girl going on a huge roller-coaster of a life . This story makes me wonder more about the past life , which of course is a good thing!!Sarah is a normal girl , trying to live a normal life after her parents died . Then she got captured to be a slave in Africa . Will Commander Forbes help her ? My heart cries when I read this but of course my blood smiles at the same time .

I particularly like the character Commander Forbes , because he is with Sarah every step she takes , like a mother with her baby . Commander Forbes has Sarah's life in the palm of his hand .

I would rate this book: 3/5

Millie McKenna

9. African Princess is a must read book, written by author Walter Dean Myers. A heart touching experience of a young African girl - a princess - would bring tears to any reader's
eyes. 

While reading this book, I could see, hear and feel everything Sarah Forbes could.

As I read I started to admire Walter Dean Myers more and more for his obviously thoroughly researched book.

I would rate this book ten out of ten, it completely enthralled me and really made me think about the hardships of life for this young girl. 

My favourite character in this book was most definitely Commander Forbes. He was caring, gentle and treated Sarah as if she were his own child; he risked his life arguing
with King Gezo to free her, Gezo could have got cross and killed Forbes as well. 

After reading this book I am most definitely going to do some research, to find out more about: King Gezo, the African rituals and the English trying to stop the Africans enslaving and killing each other. 

Even though the book ended with Sarah dying she will still live on in my heart - forever.

By Francesca