11 November 2021 Blog: my week in the news

This week I reviewed the wonderful book by Onjali Rauf, called The Lion Above The Door. This book is about our global problem of racism – it’s a complex story that touches on World War II and the power of history. The story begins when, on a class trip to a nearby cathedral with his friends, the main character Leo discovers his own name written on a memorial of war heroes.

Desperate to know who this other Leo was, Leo and his friends embark on a search. Together, they begin to uncover missing stories from the past, where they realise that the stories of war heroes have not always been shared simply because of where they were from or what they looked like. They are determined to put these heroes back into their rightful place in the pages of history!

The Lion Above The Door touches on themes of historical racism, and it really made me see how we need to think about racism and how it has maybe prevented stories from being told throughout history.

I definitely rate this book 5 stars and I would really recommend it. it was a really lovely story to read, and it didn’t feel too heavy or complex.

I think it’s amazing that Onjali Rauf writes books about really tricky subjects and makes them easy for children to read – for example, the Boy at the back of the class was about the story of refugees; the night bus hero was from the perspective of a bully, and the star outside my window was about domestic violence. The Lion Above The Door was definitely one of my favourites.