Orphaned at a young age, Bessie Smith's life was far from easy. Yet, she had a special talent - she could sing and was nicknamed the 'Empress of the Blues'. Learn all about Bessie's life and the many challenges and obstacles she faced. Be inspired by Bessie's rise to stardom and discover how she changed the course of music, defying barriers.

This book is a Readerful Book for Sharing. It is for an adult to read aloud to children aged 10 to 11.

Readerful is a reading library specially designed to motivate children to read more. The series offers contemporary, inclusive books for children from 4 to 11 years, including:

Books for Sharing: picture books to be read aloud by an adult for inspiring reading sessions

Independent Library: fiction, graphic texts, character mini-series and non-fiction for children to read independently

Rise: fully decodable books for older struggling readers to read independently.

How Readerful works:
- Read aloud the Books for Sharing for magical reading sessions that motivate children to read more.
- Then encourage children to choose a book to read by themselves, from Readerful's Independent Library or from Rise. You'll find links between the books' topics, vocabulary, characters and authors - all designed to keep children reading, boost their vocabulary and develop their knowledge of the world around them.