The Star Outside My Window: Onjali Q. Rauf

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Inspired by a Syrian mother and baby she encountered in a Calais refugee camp, it portrays the refugee crisis through the eyes of a child. We live in a scary time where politicians and world leaders are using a divisive and dehumanising rhetoric to pit us against one another, creating a divided and dangerous world. It was a Sunday Times Bestseller, winner of the 2019 Blue Peter Book Award for Best Story, [8] [9] overall winner of the 2019 Waterstones Children's Book Prize, [10] [11] and nominated for the Carnegie Medal Children's Book Award. Okay so I'm going to say on record that Mrs Iwuchukwu is my favourite adult to ever appear in a children's book. It's a beautifully poetic metaphor that masks the true circumstances of Aniyah's mum's passing without diminishing the raw emotions of loss and grief that both Aniyah and her younger brother Noah are going through.

All the characters Aniyah, Ben, Travis and Noah have been sketched beautifully and reader would end up thinking wanting to have friends like Ben and Travis who support you whole heartedly without a hint of doubt.Your selection was perfect for our children and what really made the difference was your ability to engage with each child, discuss their interests and help them to choose a suitable book based on your extensive knowledge of the books you were selling. Aniyah and her little brother Noah are suddenly placed in foster care, after something happened to their Mum. There are two lovely maps so that as you read you can follow the epic journey that the children undertake. But I don’t want to be the kind that looks for old stars that have already been burning for millions of years.

Her first novel, The Boy at the Back of the Class, won the Waterstone's Children's Prize and The Blue Peter Award. Raúf captures the raw beauty of the city through her descriptions of key aspects like the tube and the Royal Observatory. There's a note before you start reading to warn that the story may be distressing to anyone for whom the themes of domestic abuse and losing family may be very close to home, and there is advice at the back of the book to offer help to anyone dealing with this who needs it. It's clear that Onjali and her publishing team at Orion have spent a lot of time making sure they get this book right and I'm glad to say that The Star Outside My Window handles the subject with sensitivity, tact and Onjali's signature warmth which just radiates off the page. Being a ‘star hunter’ Aniyah knows all about this and when the Royal Observatory posts a contest to name the new star Aniyah must get there so that they correctly name the star after her mother.The Star Outside My Window is easily one of the best children's books I've read this year and, while very different to The Boy at the Back of the Class, it shares its warmth, heart and humour. First things first, although the book Star Outside my Window is projected as middle grade fiction, but any empathetic adult should definitely give it a go! And when there's a worldwide competition to name the star, she knows that the star deserves her mother's name. They're not exactly sure what has happened to Mum, only that she has disappeared and the police have brought them to Oxford, far away their home in London. Este livro está muito bem desenvolvido, especialmente para um público mais jovem, a temática é forte, mas o livro em si é bastante leve.