My enormous thanks to Kirsten Knight at Exisle Publishing for bringing a huge smile to my face when she sent me the children’s book When Grandma Burnt Her Bra by Samantha Tidy and Aśka. I had meant to review some while ago but life got the better of me. However, it’s my pleasure to share my review today.

Published by EK Books on 23rd October 2023, When Grandma Burnt Her Bra is available for purchase here.

When Grandma Burnt Her Bra

When Grandma Burnt Her Bra uses humour to tell the story of feminism and women’s rights, exploring how, throughout history, both men and women have broken down barriers. The illustrations help convey, carefully and quirkily, the complex message that things were not always equal — and that they are not yet equal — which means that each generation faces the continued fight for equality. The call to action is to carry the flame forward. And best of all, this book has dinosaurs!

My Review of When Grandma Burnt Her Bra

Maggie’s grandma has a story to tell!

What a fantastic book! In common with other EK children’s books I’ve read the physical attributes are so pleasing, with a really strong cover that would make When Grandma Burnt Her Bra durable in any setting, be that home or school. There’s real attention to detail in the end papers giving a sensation of quality and I love the fact that there are teaching resources available to support the book on the EK website.

Indeed, When Grandma Burnt Her Bra would be brilliant for classroom use in primary education. The story has a female protagonist appealing to girls and the use of actual dinosaurs as a metaphor for attitudes will draw in boys too. The story would be brilliant for discussion work about equality – and perhaps even afford the opportunity to discuss identity with children not identifying as either male or female, as it challenges stereotypes strongly and effectively. Similarly, I could see research into female emancipation and voting with slightly older children.

There’s a smashing balance of text to image so that When Grandma Burnt Her Bra would be super for whole class sharing as well as for young independent readers. That said, there’s some new vocabulary to develop understanding and lexicon too.

With feminism, ambition and equality as major themes, When Grandma Burnt Her Bra might sound overly political and inappropriate for young readers. Not a bit of it. The text and illustrations are peppered with jokes and humour and there’s a real sense of family so that children can consider their place in the world in a fun and engaging manner.

I thought When Grandma Burnt Her Bra was smashing. It’s funny and entertaining for readers of all ages and I thoroughly recommend it.

About Samantha Tidy

Samantha Tidy is a writer of fiction and non-fiction for both children and adults. She seeks out stories that cultivate connection and resilience and that help build community. She believes strongly that books can help us imagine a better world for the next generation to inherit. She is passionate about libraries, sustainable stewardship of our planet and using hope, action and compassion to regenerate our future. Samantha’s previous titles include The Day We Built the Bridge (Midnight Sun Publishing, 2019) and Cloudspotting (Windy Hollow Books, 2023) among others.

For further information, visit Sam’s website or find her on Instagram and Facebook.

About Aśka

Aśka is an award‐winning visual storyteller, comics maker and science communicator. As a hugely engaging and popular presenter, Aśka is passionate about visual literacy. She has published more than ten books and graphic novels and is a recipient of several grants and fellowships.

Aśka’s illustrations are featured in previous EK Books titles My Storee, The Incurable Imagination and This is NOT a Book!

For further information, visit Aśka’s website and find her on Instagram and Facebook.