Will I love The Boy at the Back of the Class?

I admire how this book makes difficult themes accessible without losing their depth. It is told through a child’s perspective, but the message carries far beyond that.

What stood out to me was the simplicity of kindness. Sometimes we overthink what it means to support or understand someone, but this book brings it back to something more human and instinctive. That simplicity is what makes it powerful.

Nine-year-old Ahmet, a Syrian refugee, has arrived in Mrs. Khan’s classroom after fleeing the horrors of war. One of the things that is so striking about this book is how the children in the story have far more understanding than most adults. It is both funny and heartfelt and is a masterclass in teaching empathy – for the young and the old.

This Middle Grade novel feels like the 'big brother or sister book' to my picture book. Narrated by an almost ten-year-old child, this is the story of what happens following the sudden arrival of a ‘Refugee Kid’ in a fourth-grade classroom. The children learn that the traumatized young boy, Ahmet, fled the war in Syria and lost his family along the way. Without getting overly political, the novel shows the full range of reactions to the boy’s arrival – from the most empathetic to the cruelest – and gently explores not only the ramifications but also the roots of these… show more.