Arthur Ransome and Onjali Q Rauf
Arthur Ransome - Swallows and Amazons
Fiction 9+
374 pages
For the Walker children, sailing the boat Swallow to an island for a camping trip is a fantastic adventure. But soon they find themselves under attack from the fierce pirates of the Amazon, Nancy and Peggy. And so begins the battles, alliances and discoveries in a summer like no other.
Onjali Q Rauf - The Boy at the Back of the Class
Fiction 9+
297 pages
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 the truth is, 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 be his friend. That's where my best friends Josie, Michael and Tom come in. Because you see, together we've come up with a plan.
Onjali Q Rauf - The Star Outside my Window
Fiction 9+
306 pages
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. 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.
Onjali Q Rauf - The Night Bus Hero
Fiction 9+
288 pages
Told from the perspective of a bully, this book explores themes of homelessness, while celebrating kindness, friendship and the potential everyone has to change for the good. Inspired by Onjali's own childhood experiences of growing up in London and seeing the impact of homelessness on those around her, 'The Night Bus Hero’ follows an unlikely friendship between our narrator and Thomas - who lives in the park.
Can they get to the bottom of some unusual thefts taking place across the city, and discover what it takes to be a real hero.