The Great (Food) Bank Heist

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Another Barrington Stokes book capturing real life moments and emotion from children who encounter food poverty. There are a few pages after the book with author’s notes and information on food banks and breakfast clubs and why children (and their families) might need to visit them. There are some very funny moments especially with Nelson’s friend Krish, and I love what happens at the end, with things resolving well for everyone. The illustrations really do add to the story and you can see the expressions on all the characters faces. An inspiring and sweet talethat should help children be the best they can be and realise the power of kindness.

The Great (Food) Bank Heist by Onjali Q. Raúf - Barrington Stoke The Great (Food) Bank Heist by Onjali Q. Raúf - Barrington Stoke

Rauf is the founder of Making Herstory, an organisation mobilising men, women and children from all walks of life to tackle the abuse and trafficking of women and girls in the UK and beyond. An interesting take, reflecting similarities with the Marcus Rashford influence on the socio-economic crisis! It's a simpler, shorter, more accessible book and, although they are obviously both about very different important issues, I think this does exactly what The Boy did, but better.

Nelson loves the food bank, and dreams of all the wonderful foods that he hopes to get there, but after he visits the bank with his mum, there’s a problem, they don’t have as much food as they usually get at the food bank and it seems someone is stealing the food meant for them and others in need. This is the story about how four classmates have a massive impact on the life of Ahmet, a boy that comes to their school as a refugee from Syria. 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 | Book reviews | RGfE The Great (Food) Bank Heist | Book reviews | RGfE

But there’s a thief in town, and the shelves of the food bank are getting emptier each day, leaving people hungrier than ever.This aspect of the book was handled with great sensitivity both towards the children using the food bank and also their more fortunate friends who support the bank through their donations. It's written for a slightly younger audience than her books that came before it, but deals with the subject in a mature and non-patronising way. 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. It is dyslexia-friendly, with a specially-designed typeface and clear layout on thick paper to avoid confusing the eye, while engaging black-and-white illustrations add detail to the story.

The Great Food Bank Heist | BookTrust The Great Food Bank Heist | BookTrust

There’s hardly any food left in the house and Nelson’s mum has to regularly go to the food bank because they just don’t have enough to eat.A short sweet adventure story about a boy’s determination to save himself and his family from food shortages.

The Great (Food) Bank Heist by Onjali Q. Rauf | WHSmith The Great (Food) Bank Heist by Onjali Q. Rauf | WHSmith

We all need to understand how bad this is, and hiding it from children only leads to adults ignorant of the issue. With its shining tins and packets of food stacked from floor to ceiling, Nelson thinks it’s the best kind of bank there is. But both children are hungry every day, despite Nelson visiting Breakfast Club at school every morning, and he soon finds out that there’s a problem at the food bank, a problem that will make everyone relying on it even more hungry. It was very interesting on how they caught the thieves who were stealing food that were going to go to the food Bank. 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.I think the maturity of the kids is a lesson to adults reading the book too, that reminds us that kindness and assistance doesn't need to come with judgement or arrogance. 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. This is an absolutely heartwarming book that tackles a difficult subject but in child friendly terms much like the other two books that I read. This book should be in every school so that children can understand food poverty and play their part to helping to end it.