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The Boy At the Back of the Class

By: Onjali Q. Rauf, Pippa Curnick (Illustrator)

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Paperback | 10 July 2018 | Edition Number 1

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This book is featured in our Refugees and Displaced People page, a collection of the best books to understand the courage and plight of forced migration, including books for children of stories and issues

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Product Description

Told with heart and humour, The Boy at the Back of the Class is a child's perspective on the refugee crisis, highlighting the importance of friendship and kindness in a world that doesn't always make sense.

There used to be an empty chair at the back of my class, but now a new boy called Ahmet is sitting in it.

He's nine years old (just like me), but he's very strange. He never talks and never smiles and doesn't like sweets - not even lemon sherbets, which are my favourite!

But then I learned the truth: Ahmet really isn't very strange at all. He's a refugee who's run away from a War. A real one. With bombs and fires and bullies that hurt people. And the more I find out about him, the more I want to help.

That's where my best friends Josie, Michael and Tom come in. Because you see, together we've come up with a plan. . .

About the Author

Onjali Q. Rauf is the founder of Making Herstory, an organisation mobilising men, women and children from all walks of life to tackle the abuse and trafficking of women and girls in the UK and beyond. In her spare time she delivers emergency aid convoys for refugee families surviving in Calais and Dunkirk, and supports interfaith projects. She specialised in Women's Studies at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and Oxford University. The Boy at the Back of the Class is her first novel.

Industry Reviews

Raul's book is at once tearjerking and chuckle-inducing and will go a long way to restore faith in human nature. * Sunday Post *
Onjali Rauf's debut, The Boy at the Back of the Class (Orion), illustrated by Pippa Curnick, offers a child's eye view and an ambitious, adventure-filled plot. When a new boy is introduced at school, no one is exactly sure where he has come from; what is a "refugee kid", anyway, and how can Ahmet be helped to feel that he belongs? Though the narrator's voice is overly young at times, this is a lovely, warm-hearted first novel, a celebration of courage and friendship leavened with mischief. * The Guardian *
Rauf's touching debut could hardly be more topical. Syrian refugee Ahmet is struggling to adapt to his new life in London, until our nine-year-old narrator and friends come up with a very clever plan to reunite him with his lost family. Utterly delightful, Rauf's book centres on the importance of friendship and encourages children not to fear those who are different'. * The Mail On Sunday *
Bravely tackling the difficult issue of refugees, The Boy At The Back of The Class is about a Syrian refugee arriving in a class in the UK that shows us how children can sometimes get it so much better than adults. * Angels & Urchins *
This is a powerful story about friendship and kindness. * Family Traveller *
This book's greatest strength is how it conveys the motive nature of its main theme (the refugee crisis) in a way that opens up conversations instead of shutting them down. 'The Boy At The Back of The Class' is not only a well-written book that begs the reader to keep reading, but also one that opens up a dialogue that we need to be having with our young people. * TES *

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