The Lion Above the Door

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The first edition of this book also contains a special collection of historical photos and stories of real life forgotten heroes from World War Two. directorio de fundaciones volumen i fundaciones docentes de investigaci n y deportivas volumen ii fundaciones culturales As the children embark on their research they find that there isn’t much written in the history books so they enlist the help of their families and relatives around the world. 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. Touching on themes of historical racism, The Lion Above the Door shines a light on the stories our history books have yet to contain and the power of friendships that can last through generations. Following Leo's story, the first edition of this book contains a special collection of historical photos and stories of real life 'forgotten' heroes from World War Two. About This Edition ISBN:

Toby, whose parents have freshly split, wanders into this strange, burning kingdom chasing a cat through a tunnel. Everything is falling apart in this autocracy plagued by floods and earthquakes as well as fire. But who is this spectral girl he meets, and how can he ever get home?

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? Then, on a class trip to a nearby cathedral, Leo's attention is drawn to a large marble slab high above the doors of the hall. Right there, bang in the middle of a list of war heroes, Leo finds himself staring at something incredible: his own name. 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.

These whole class reading sessions aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of extracts from a range of modern fiction texts. When Leo and Sangeeta go on a class trip to Rochester cathedral, Leo spots a name on one of the war memorials that is identical to his own. He begins to wonder about the “real” Leo - who he was and what he did during the war. When the class embark on a project following on from the trip, they decide to focus on the forgotten heroes of the war - which includes soldiers from Asia and Africa. Another thought-provoking gem from the award winning author Onjali Rauf. Exploring themes of historical racism, The Lion Above the Door is a heart warming story of two friends and their quest to celebrate the forgotten World War Two soldiers.Leo Kai Lim and his best friend Sangeeta Singh are both looking forward to their class trip to the RAF Museum and Rochester Cathedral (in Kent). They've been studying WWII in school and even though the two friends know that they are probably the only ones in their class who don't have a personal connection to anyone who fought in WWII, they are excited to see the planes on display. Leo's parents are from Singapore, and Sangreta is Indian descent. Leo and Sangeeta are the only two kids in their school who look like them and of course, there is a bully named Toby who never tires of going after Leo. He's kind of an Eddie Haskell character in that he acts sweet and innocent in front of teachers and parents, but all that changes in the school yard and sometimes in class. He makes fun of the Singaporean food Leo brings for lunch, pushes and shoves him and the morning of the school trip, Toby hits Leo hard several times with a tennis ball. As a bruise developed on his leg, Leo thinks about the bruise inside him that never seem to heal, getting hit over and over. Leo is convinced his inner bruise will only heal if "something big and unexpected and brilliant happened." But the chances of that happening were zero as far as he was concerned, after all, he and Sangeeta "were too different for brilliant things to ever happen to us. And the bruise knew it." (pg27) 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?

That's the problem with being the only ones who look different to everyone else. There's always someone who look different to everyone else. There's always someone who doesn't like you, and then doesn't like you even more when you can do something that they can't." 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? I did like that Raúf allowed her characters to be flawed. For example, Leo had trouble with his dad's never standing up for himself or Leo until he learns why, and Mr. Scott is not always the most culturally sensitive person but he does learn to be more aware of it thanks to Leo and his project. Two friends, Leo and Sangeeta often feel as though they don’t quite fit in at their village school and are subjected to the stares and jibes of their classmates. However, Leo’s Dad insists it is because they are special. When a class trip to a nearby cathedral leads Leo to notice his full name carved into a remembrance wall, things change and Leo wants to know more. Who is this person? Are they related? Why is his name next to a lion and what do the initials DCF mean? Excitement breaks out on their return as the class discover that the school has been chosen to take part in a TV Remembrance Day competition. Classmates put forward their ideas for a theme with Leo suggesting that they could investigate ‘ people who were in the war that no one else knows about’, secretly driven by his desire to research his namesake. The two friends become determined to explore the lost histories of the forgotten heroes who fought in World War Two and a series of adventures ensues as Leo makes a promise to himself that he will make ‘ everyone listen!’ But on a special class trip to a nearby cathedral one day, Leo's attention is drawn to a large marble slab high above the doors of the hall, featuring a short list of names. Because right there, bang in the middle of the list, Leo finds himself staring at his own name...

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Rauf’s book, published by Orion, tells the story of Leo and his best friend Sangeeta who often feel like the odd ones out at school and in the small village they live in, where everyone else is white. That is until they go on a trip to a war museum where Leo sees his own name on a war memorial, starting him off on an amazing investigation that highlights some of the hidden history of World War Two and his own family.

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. 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. Going on a trip to a war museum, Leo envies his classmates that have stories to tell about their great-grandparents and family members who fought in the war. Yet, when he finds his own name on a war memorial, he is amazed. Who was this brave soldier, and is he related to Leo in any way? With Sangeeta’s help, Leo starts an amazing investigation that will highlight some of the hidden history of World War Two – and his own family. Touching on themes of historical racism, The Lion Above the Door shines a light on the stories our history books have yet to contain and the power of friendships that can last through generations. I am a Singaporean and while I am glad to see Singapore being featured in the book, portrayal of Singapore is not quite accurate. I would hesitate to share this book with my children. Firstly, Singapore was a British Colony. During World War Two, Japan invaded Singapore and we were left to fight for ourselves after the British surrendered and left our island. We were not fighting for Churchill against the racist Nazis, we were fighting for our own survival. Secondly, the main Character Leo Kai Lim’s grandfather is supposedly named Huang Kai Lim. Is the family name Huang or Lim? If it is Huang, how can the boy be named Kai Lim? I am also not going into the fact that in Singapore, our family names are stated first followed by last name. The war hero is also named Leo Kai Lim, why does both the war hero and main character’s great grand father (Huang Kai Lim) share the same name? It is too confusing. Thirdly, while the writer included some Singapore culture in the story such as our food eg. ondeh ondeh, it feels like the writer is also mixing us up with Korea and China. Leo’s aunt exclaimed omo, which is a Korean expression, not Singaporean. And Leo’s family ate dumplings for dinner, which while Singapore being multi cultural and dumplings are enjoyed by locals, it is not a authentic Singaporean dish. Also, Leo is Chinese but based on book, he wears a “teluk belanga shirt” when guests came to his house which is a traditional costume of Malays (not Chinese).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. Read Manchester’s city-wide Year 6 transition read is now underway! For a second year running, the award-winning author, Onjali Q Rauf has been chosen as the author and her brilliant book, The Lion Above the Door is being given to every year 6 pupil in Manchester. That’s 8,000 books for 144 primary schools!