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The Star Outside My Window: Onjali Q. Rauf

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While their adventure getting to London is often unrealistic it is none the less a terrific read about childhood loyalty, friendship and determination in the face of overwhelming odds. On her tenth birthday, Aniyah makes a wish -- a wish for her mum. After school that same day, Aniyah and her brother are rushed out of school and driven far, far away. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - Aniyah also doesn't understand where Dad is, though she doesn’t miss having to be quiet to avoid setting off his “triggers”. It's hard being in a new home, even though Mrs Iwuchukwu doesn't mind them being noisy, or even changing Noah's sheets when he wets the bed every night.

Aniyah and her little brother Noah are suddenly placed in foster care, after something happened to their Mum. The details of how they got here are hazy, and what happened are missing from her memory, but Aniyah knows her mother has become a star, to watch over them from the skies above. I've always wanted to be a Star Hunter. But I don't want to be the kind that looks for old stars that have already been burning for millions of years. I want to find the brand new ones - the ones that have only just been born and are searching for the people they've left behind....' It’s another Bookwagon day in our house. The kids were so excited to get their latest books in the post. LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. Aniyah, Ben and their two best foster friends set off in secret to get to the Royal Observatory in London in time to make sure the star is named correctly.

Many children in the book are in foster care. Delicate parts of the process, such as finding out that you are going into foster care, are also shown. Following an incident of domestic violence that will forever change their lives, 10 year old Aniyah and her younger brother Noah find themselves in foster care. We follow them on an adventure to London, as they try to find their mum, the brightest star in the sky. My Comments Keen on astronomy, when Aniyah learns about the naming of a newly discovered star by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, she's convinced it's her mum and that's the only name the star should have. What follows is a sweet little adventure, full of heart in mouth moments till it all comes to a culmination bringing the kids happiness, smile and some closure. Aniyah cannot believe the news. ‘ A real, live, burning star moving from one end of [the] solar system to the other, coming close to [the] planet’s atmosphere’…. It can only mean one thing. Aniyah is a star hunter. Since her mother left her and Noah several days ago, forcing their move to the foster home, Aniyah’s been on the look out for their mother. Now she’s appeared in a blaze of glory.

Written with young children in mind the author has managed to make the more hideous aspects of domestic abuse readable for children without being graphic. Flood, Alison (22 March 2019). "Gripping refugee tale wins Waterstones children's book prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 25 March 2019. In addition to writing for publications such as The Guardian, [22] Raúf is also a contributor to the BBC Radio 2 program Pause For Thought. [23]What Aniyah recalls about her life before raises the ugly sceptre of domestic violence;a truth that she is too young to understand but one that as adult readers we can. Holding onto the belief that her mother's heart has turned into a star is all that Aniyah has and so when she hears of the new, unique star that is moving across the sky and is so special that a competition is being held to find a name for it, she is convinced that it is her mother looking out for her and Noah and that the star must be named for her mother. To make sure this happens, she sets out on an adventure to London with Ben and Travis, two other foster kids at the home. This sensitively told story of domestic abuse is as heartbreaking as you might expect, but Raúf deftly steers Aniyah's innocent-child point of view through a multi-layered story of loss and friendship. Following the disappearance of her mum, 10-year-old Aniyah suddenly finds herself living in foster care. With her life in disarray, she knows just one thing for sure: her mum isn’t gone for ever. Because people with the brightest hearts never truly leave. They become stars.

As the story progresses we learn of the games they used to play with their mum that clearly indicate a life of abuse at the hands of their father. Their wariness and defence mechanisms are tough to read about as an adult.Shortly after Aniyah's mother's 'disappearance', astronomers observe a huge star hurtling across the solar system travelling closer to Earth than any star has before. When Aniyah and Noah see a news report on the star, they realise it must be their mum making her way up into the sky. And so begins an adventure to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich as the children journey to see their mum through the Great Equatorial Telescope and try to convince the astronomers to name the new star after their mother, Isabella. My mum is up there somewhere. She's waiting -- I can feel it. I just have to find her in time, that's all ... Because when I do, I'll know the truth about who stole her. ' Here is a selection of brilliant stories that all children will enjoy reading, with main characters who've been fostered.

These two children are fortunate enough to have found themselves in a loving foster home (this is not always the case) and has forged a friendship with two of the other foster children. There is another foster child, the eldest who is not so nice, but provides a much needed edge to the story. A bit of vinegar to the honey. Alongside the fun, there are the very real and painful mentions of experiences at home for Aniyah and Noah - the games they were to play to try to keep quite, not flip Dad's switch, and now, the longest game of hide and seek. The reality for far too many children in families where violence is present.

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Why children are our most powerful hope for change/Onjali Rauf/TEDxLondonWomen". YouTube. 6 January 2020 . Retrieved 18 November 2021. Despite its topic, it's completely suitable for middle grade readers and will enable an important discussion to be had. An important and beautiful book.

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