The Lion Above the Door

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About News Annual Report and Accounts Venue Hire Filming Who's Who Diocese of Rochester Cathedral Policies and Procedures Development Plan The book would be perfect for upper KS2 children and the author richly describes her characters so much so that you can imagine them in the classroom, from Olivia who the class is in awe of due to her 'no mess' attitude, to Mr Scott, the classroom teacher who constantly thumps on the desk to emphasise his point. Even though the story is suppose to highlight racism. I felt that Leo’s struggle to prove that he had a world war “hero” for Britain enforces the good immigrant notion placed on ethnic children. It would have been better had Leo’s ancestor been a army hero or inventor in Indonesia who’s achievements were ignored.

I found the truth in (in my experience) why in school our curriculum of history is about Hitler and never about our own Asian histories, heroes and stories. This book shares their journey of bringing forward the stories of Forgotten Heroes. This moving read is wonderful and I doubt you will want to put the book down once you start. Leo and his best friend Sangeetha are the odd ones out in their school. In fact, they seem to be the odd ones out no matter where they go in their small town. But as Leo's dad is always telling him, it's only because he's extra-special, and Sangeetha is extra-extra-special. Only thing is, if they're so special, how come Leo never sees anyone who likes him in the history books he loves to read? Often historical focus reads are found in adult fiction and we never realise that kids are exposed through the experience of racism, history and curiosity in school.The curiosity of Leo got him into a journey of learning more than just about forgotten heroes but racism, people's attitude towards history, family dynamic and understanding about himself too. The actual Leo’s story in the end is brief and not very detailed. It would have really been great if Leo was related to his hero and ends up being gifted with his medals in the finale. It would also have been nice if Leo found his diary entry where he discussed being left out because of his race, culture etc.

Leo, a boy living in the UK but of Singaporean descent, cannot see anyone who looked like him when studying World War 2- all the names sound like British royalty, and he feels like his ancestry are lesser to his classmates. Until, he spots a name on the cathedral wall honouring the soldiers from WW2, and not just any name- his own name. Suddenly, Leo wants to know, who was this soldier, what is his story, and could he have been named after this Leo? The race is on, especially as his class have been chosen to prepare an assembly and display board which might even make it onto TV. Can he find out the information in time, to make everyone remember a forgotten hero?Although, Onjali does highlight the racism and prejudice faced by ethnic soldiers during World War Two in her notes in the end. It would have been better had this been incorporated in the story. For example, Leo, Sangeets and Olivia decide to incorporate the racism faced by coloured soldiers during the assembly finale despite their teacher disapproving. Sophie absolutely loved The Lion Above the Door which handled the sensitive topic of race and racism in history perfectly. Leo experiences the impact of racism in many different ways – from direct name-calling by classmates to the missing chapters in a history book and to his own family’s attitude to those around them – and although this is hard to read, it is also eye-opening to see how the many micro-aggressions he encounters every day have formed what he calls an invisible bruise inside him. She also appreciated that not everything falls into place perfectly by the end, as can sometimes happen in middle-grade books. Not everyone learns the error of their ways by the end, just as they don’t in real life. This serious subject is balanced by the humour and madcap adventure aspects of the story (something big gets broken... ) Leo faces all sorts of challenges but there is a huge sense of fun to this book.

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.My mum said she could relate to the main character Leo as she grew in a small town where she was the only brown person. She said she and her family felt similar to Leo and Sangeeta. 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. Another triumph from an incredible writer. Onjali Ralf has done it again. It sounds cliched to say “I laughed, I cried” but I genuinely laughed out loud whilst reading, got choked up by the emotional ending, and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it. It’s safe to say that I loved it. Although, I found the displays becoming vandalised to be a interesting turn of events. There wasn’t any punishment given to Catherine after confessing. Also, the fact that they didn’t win the “real kidz rule show” competition in the end was underwhelming. This was especially the case as it was constantly brought up through the entire story.