The Star Outside My Window: Onjali Q. Rauf

Product Information

Raúf, Onjali Q. (2019). The star outside my window. London: Orion Children's Books. ISBN 978-1-5101-0515-7. OCLC 1126253200.

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 CommentsShe was named as one of the BBC 100 Women, a list and multi-format series of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world, for 2019. [19] In December 2019 she talked about "Why children are our most powerful hope for change" at TEDxLondonWomen event. [20] Whilst it’s fun to read books about children going on grand fantasy adventures, overcoming impossibly dangerous scenarios in far-flung worlds, this book instead focuses on the inner strength of a child going through a harrowing experience at home. Onjali Q. Raúf takes the delicate subject of domestic violence, and handles it with all the sensitivity, warmth and sincerity that it needs. So when a new star is spotted acting strangely in the sky, Aniyah is sure it’s her mum, and she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to make sure everyone else knows too — an adventure that involves breaking into the Royal Observatory of London, a mischievous scurry of squirrels and the biggest star in Hollywood… 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.

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.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. 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. Aniyah is a little 10 year old girl who finds herself, along with her 5 year old brother Noah, in foster care. Her memory is hazy about how she reached Mrs. Iwuchukwu's foster house. All she knows is that her mother has become a star in the sky and her dad is looking for her. When the news channels report a previously-undiscovered star that seems to be moving across the skies, Aniyah knows that it's her mom trying to reach out to her. And when there's a worldwide competition to name the star, she knows that the star deserves her mother's name. After all, her mother's heart powers the star! Thus begins Aniyah's adventure along with two of the other children in foster care, Ben and Trevor. 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. The Night Bus Hero written by Onjali Q. Rauf and has been published by Hachette UK this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020-10-15 with Juvenile Fiction categories.

I personally find the ending so beautiful yet tragic as the star, now named Isabella, is heading towards the Seven Sister Constellation. Where the sisters were turned into stars to be able to stay safe and protected from the Hunter Orion (as explained in the book). My interpretation of this is telling the reader that although Isabella (like the Seven Sisters) is no longer living on Earth, they are now safe and will not have to endure suffering anymore as their suffering is gone and the causes to their suffering is far far away. Her 2021 Barrington Stoke publication, The Great (Food) Bank Heist (illustrations by Elisa Paganelli), was a child's perspective on food poverty in the UK. [21]So when a new star is spotted acting strangely in the sky, Aniyah is sure it's her mum, and she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to make sure everyone else knows, too - an adventure that involves breaking into the Royal Observatory of London, a mischievous scurry of squirrels and the biggest star in Hollywood.... Uma escrita de estilo simples e tom suave (porque destinado a crianças e adolescentes), sobre o tema triste da violência doméstica, tema de que se deveria falar mais, mesmo que seja desagradável ou incómodo. One of the things I really admired about the book was that it included a content warning at the start: But it's also a story that may cause distress or upset for anyone who is seeing or experiencing abuse in their own home, and is having to be extra-especially brave and strong. I have even talked the head into a little revamp of the library so that we can display them properly!