The Great (Food) Bank Heist: A topical and heartwarming adventure from the author of The Boy at the Back of the Class (Dyslexia-friendly) Paperback – 1 July 2021

Child poverty is a big issue in the UK; perhaps one that many people probably wouldn’t like to acknowledge exists – in one of the richest countries in the world. Sometimes it can be easy to write-off some children's literature as just stories to entertain us for a while and nothing else. But every now and then you come across a book that does a little more than that. This book is special and not so easily forgotten. It has something important to say. It's thought provoking, sincere and inspiring. There will be children who read this book who have friends facing these issues. This is another of Onjali’s books which delivers exactly what she is well known for... great adventure with a very important message.

the book was not to long not to short so Inspiring and love love love the book! would recemend ro everyone!

My daughter loved this book as she does with all Onjali Rauf books, they have great meaning and they have really inspired her to read!

The author has done it again, wrote a story with such a big message but delivered it in such a way that the reader can understand and digest it. Every chapter just blew us away. What an important story that needs to be heard!

A beautiful, funny and very human tale of three friends working out why the food bank is empty! This is such an important tale for our time. I urge you to read it to the young people in your life; or have them read it for themselves!

Bought this as a Christmas present for my 10 year old granddaughter. She loves this author so I am sure she will enjoy it.

I bought this for my children aged 11 and 9 and they said '5 stars, it was amazing’. One also added, it doesn’t matter what situation you are in, you can do something for the world.

Child poverty is a big problem in the UK, though one that a lot of people probably don't like to acknowledge exists. We hear of families that barely have enough food to live, of children going hungry and worrying about whether or not they're going to eat the next day or not and a lot of people will imagine it happening in third world countries, of distant parts of the world that are different from our own. But the sad fact is that it happens here, that there will be people where you live who have to go to food banks in order to survive.It's easy to pretend that it isn't happening around us, that it's something far removed, something that we can't change. But that's wrong, because you'll have seen people who are starving, who need help. The Great (Food) Bank Heist is trying to raise awareness of this issue, it's showing people who might never have even thought about it before that it's happening all around us. The story might be exaggerating certain things, it might be throwing in some artistic license, but the children in this book who have empty cupboards at home, who need their schools breakfast clubs and help from the food bank just to survive is very real; and it's something that we all need to acknowledge.The book follows Nelson, a young boy who lives with his mother and little sister, Ashley. The story begins with Nelson explaining how he and his family play a lot of games, a lot of make believe, like imagining their cupboards are full, that they're eating full meals, and that their food is something different; they do this because it's the only way to get by when things are difficult for them. Luckily, Nelson and his sister have a little help from kind people. They get to go to the breakfast club before school, where they get a good meal, and they get school lunches too. But their favourite thing is when they get to visit the food bank once a month.They love going into the bank, seeing the kind people who work there, and coming away with bags of food and supplies that will help to get them through the month; that will stop their stomachs from aching for a little while. However, things start to look bad for them when they visit the food bank and only get half of what they normally would. It turns out that people have been stealing from the food bank.Despite this, they struggle on, and when they get even less the next month Nelson realises something has to be done. He's hungry all the time, he's in pain, and he can hear his sister crying herself to sleep at night because she's so hungry. He also sees that it's not just his family, but so many others who are struggling to survive. Nelson turns to his friends, Krish and Harriet, and reveals to them how bad things have gotten. Together, the kids come up with a plan to track down the people who are stealing the donations, and are determined to stop them.I was a little surprised at how dark the story got whilst reading this book. I have to admit that this is a fault of my own. I expected the story to deal with the realities of poverty in Britain, of how so many go hungry, but I was so ill educated on the severity of this issue that being faced with the reality of how bad it is for some people was painful to read. But that isn't a bad thing. I think it's something that a lot of people are unaware of, and that those who do know that there is poverty in this country probably don't realise how bad it is.The Great (Food) bank Heist doesn't shy away from this reality. It doesn't sugarcoat the issue or try to make it more palitable so as to avoid the painful truth. It shines a light on a real issue, one that is affecting so many, and it makes that reality hit home. I'm sure there will be some people who would say that this is too harsh for a children's book, that kids want to be wowed by adventure and happy stories rather than being faced with these kinds of topics; but I have to disagree with that sentiment. We all need to understand how bad this is, and hiding it from children only leads to adults ignorant of the issue.More importantly, however, there will be children who read this book who have friends facing these issues, or may be facing it themselves. It's important to show kids that not everyone around them is as lucky as them, that some people struggle even just to survive. There's nothing shameful about this, everyone needs help sometimes, and reading this book could spur kids on to ask their parents to donate to their local food banks, to volunteer to do some good, to raise awareness.The book isn't all sadness though, as the story ends on a note of hope. It shows that people standing up and doing the right thing, of helping others and fighting against these awful things is not only the right thing to do, it's the moral thing to do.The book is also filled with some great illustrations, an example of which you can see on the book's cover. Artist Elisa Paganelli provides artwork throughout the book, and these select moments help to highlight key parts of the stories. We get to see Nelson struggling to stay positive at home with empty cupboards, we see how much he loves his family, we see the moment where he finally snaps and reveals what's going on, and we get to see the triumph the kids have at the end. These moments not only help to break up the text for younger readers, but really put you into the story too.I think it can sometimes be easy to write-off children's literature as just stories, as throw-away narratives that are just there to entertain and nothing else. But that's not always the case. Sometimes there's a little more to it than that. And this book is one of those times. It has something important to say. It's there to teach and to try and make the world a better place.