The Lion Above the Door

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The story broaches the topic of cultural blindspots in history education, posing questions about the missing and ignored figures from the history topics taught in schools. Young Leo is intrigued to find a WW2 memorial in which he recognises his own name; being of Singaporean heritage he has become used to rarely seeing people like himself reflected in the history books. As Leo and his classmates research their relatives' roles in the war, important stories come to surface and it's up to the children to make sure these histories get the spotlight they deserve.

This novel will also make you think carefully about ignored heroes that students should be learning about. As a History & English teacher, I have a chance to transform the curriculum to eliminate cultural blind-spots, and to celebrate all contributions to our shared human experience. Overall, “the lion above the door” is a factually accurate novel detailing the importance of forgotten soldiers and their impact. It is very clear that Onjali put a lot of time, effort and work into researching historic records of World War Two for this novel. It can definitely be utilised in schools to educate students on the diverse soldiers who served in World War Two. And because this is a Onjali Q. Raúf novel, there is one surprising turn of events when Olivia Morris, the coolest most popular girl in class offers to help Leo and one very zany episode when Leo and Sangeeta break into the RAF museum. I really enjoyed reading The Lion Above the Door and found myself reluctant to put it down when I had to do other things. Leo's first-person narration is appealing and so endearing in its innocent truthfulness, even as Raúf threw themes of family and family history, cultural underrepresentation, contemporary and historical racism, perseverance, courage, and teamwork his way, but all with a sensitive hand and a combination of seriousness and humor. Multi-award-winning children's author Onjali Raúf joined us for an evening by the Lampedusa Cross to talk about the real-life places and people who inspire her writings and works, and replenish her hopes for a world open to helping all refugees, and ending the inhumanities of racism.Leo and his best friend Sangeeta are Year Four pupils at their primary school in southern England where they are also some of the only children of color. Their class is working on the topic of World War Two and both the children notice that none of the photographs in their history books are of people who look like them, nor do any of the heroes discussed there have similar names. However, on a field trip to Rochester Cathedral, Leo spots something incredible. Inside is a wall dedicated to soldiers from all over the former British Empire and included there is his exact name, along with many others – some sharing Sangeeta’s surname, Singh. I felt that the museum staff calling all their parents and Mr.Scott sounded overwhelming for Leo only boarding the simulator when it was closed. I really would have like to see a chase scene in the museum with Leo and his friends and the museum staff. It would also have been great if Leo had added names to the wall to include forgotten heroes he felt had been censored. Average storyline, too much speech & classic bullies. However, the rest is just good enough for me to recommend this. Just. Help your child develop kindness and empathy with these middle grade books that inspire compassion: whether that’s towards animals, friends, or people in very different situations to your own.

The Lion Above the Door centres around Leo and his best friend Sangeeta and events that take place in their school in a small village called Whot. Leo's class is studying WWII and on a school visit to a museum and a cathedral is where Leo notices his name (full name) above a memorial. It is this event where the story soon begins to unfold. It's Leo's relentless search to discover the origins of his name that brings the story to life. But imagine the surprise Leo gets when he sees the name Leo Kai Lim DFC and a golden lion above it carved into the marble with other names of other soldiers who were WWII heroes. Stunned by this discovery, Leo promises to find out all he can about this soldier. About News Annual Report and Accounts Venue Hire Filming Who's Who Diocese of Rochester Cathedral Policies and Procedures Development Plan Leo and his best friend Sangeeta are the odd ones out in their school. But as Leo’s dad is always telling him, it’s because they’re special. Only thing is, if they’re so special, how come they never see anyone who looks like them in their school history books?Onjali Q Rauf's loyal fanbase will be pleased to hear of a new novel. True to form, the Lion Above the Door explores important social issues while capturing voices from the younger generation in a most relatable manner.

This is, on the surface, a great story about a school project, and the scrapes they get into along the way. However it would also be a fantastic vehicle for discussing with children the way people are treated and the casual racism found too often in schools. On a school trip, which the bullies don't go on as they haven't returned their slip, he finds 'his' name above the door of a Cathedral on a memorial, and Sangeeta finds the name R Singh. This begins an adventure to find out about those that gave their lives for Britain and the allies during the war. They are joined in their quest by Olivia, who reveals that despite her white skin she is mixed race and her Dad family originate from Ghana and her Great Grandfather is one of those forgotten heroes. The fact that Olivia is not afraid of Toby and Catherine helps Leo and his friends.When Leo and Sangeeta’s class begin a project about World War Two, Leo looks at pictures in books of the people that fought for Britain in the war and realises that none of them look like him, even though Sangeeta points out that many of the books also don’t include the experiences of many women – and certainly not women of colour. As a teacher who teaches WWI and WWII every year, I will now completely change the way I change these and any other historical topic due to this book and the insight it has given me.