LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
I don’t think Raúf has put a foot wrong so far with her novels to date – and this is no exception. Told from the interesting perspective of the bully in school, Hector gains our sympathy quite unexpectedly – we can see how and why he gets the blame, often deservedly, but also when it’s not really his fault.
But when a prank on a homeless person gets out of hand this leads to Hector being befriended - somewhat reluctantly at first, by Mei-Li – who introduces Hector to the shelter she helps in and thus to an understanding of some of the pressures and causes of homelessness. An important social message for all – but this book is also a who-done-it trying to solve mysterious, slightly odd crimes whilst the graffiti left at the scenes of these crimes seem to indicate that homeless people are involved in some way.
Can Hector and Mei-Li get to the bottom of these crimes? Can Hector’s new understanding help him be less of a bully? Could Hector turn out to be a bit of a hero?
Written with great empathy, this book has themes of friendship and kindness whilst celebrating the fact people can change – and often for the better. Another success for Onjali J Raúf.
Tricia Adams
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About
The Night Bus Hero Synopsis
'The boy's an absolute menace.' 'He's a bully. A lost cause!' 'Why can't he be more like his sister?'
I've been getting into trouble for as long I can remember. Usually I don't mind 'cos some of my best, most brilliant ideas have come from sitting in detention. But recently it feels like no one believes me about anything - even when I'm telling the truth! And it's only gotten worse since I played a prank on the old man who lives in the park. Everyone thinks I'm just a bully. They don't believe I could be a hero. But I'm going to prove them all wrong...
Told from the perspective of a bully, this book explores themes of bullying and homelessness, while celebrating kindness, friendship and the potential everyone has to change for the good.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781510106772 |
| Publication date: |
15th October 2020 |
| Author: |
Onjali Q. Raúf |
| Publisher: |
Orion Children's Books an imprint of Hachette Children's Group |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
288 pages |
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Press Reviews
Onjali Q. Raúf Press Reviews
Praise for The Boy at the Back of the Class;
Raul's book is at once tearjerking and chuckle-inducing and will go a long way to restore faith in human nature. - Sunday Post
Author
About Onjali Q. Raúf
Onjali Q. Raúf is a multi-award-winning children’s author and women’s and refugee human rights activist. She is the founder and CEO of Making Herstory which works to end the abuse, enslavement and trafficking of women and girls in the UK, and O’s Refugee Aid Team which mobilises aid convoys and funds to help frontline refugee response teams across northern France and beyond. She is the author of Sunday Times bestseller, The Boy at the Back of the Class, which won the Blue Peter Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2019, the Sakura Medal of Japan in 2020 and the Prix Janusz Korczak Prize in 2022 amongst others. Her follow-up stories include The Star Outside My Window, The Night Bus Hero, The Great Food Bank Heist, The Lion Above the Door, a non-fiction title, Hope on the Horizon, and most recently, Where Magic Grows: a book of seven original fairy tales inspired by her travels and best-loved sayings. She was awarded an MBE in 2022 for her services to women’s rights and children’s literature, and in 2023, was recipient of the NEU Fred and Anne Jarvis Award for services to education and her humanitarian works.
Onjali is also a Patron of VIP Reading, Facefront Theatre, and NIA Women; an Ambassador for Walk With Amal, and a regular contributor to BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought. An alumnus of the Cambridge University Senior Faith in Leadership programme, she was listed as one of BBC’s 100 most influential women from around the world in 2019. Her first children’s play, The Hero Next Door, was staged and toured in England and Wales in 2023. An adaptation of The Boy at the Back of the Class for the stage launches at London’s Rose Theatre in February 2024, and will be touring across England until June 2024.
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