The Girl at the Front of the Class

From Onjali Q. Rauf, the bestselling and award-winning author of The Boy at the Back of the Class, and award-winning illustrator Pippa Curnick, comes a moving picture book that helps young children understand and empathise with the refugee crisis, and shows the power that friendship, kindness and generosity can have.

There's a new girl in my class. She has eyes as wide and as golden as a tiger's, skin as pale as a glass of milk, and hair as shiny as a mirror. I'd like to be her friend.

But she never plays with me in the playground or makes sandcastles in the sandpit. She doesn't even like Story Time.

The cleverest people I know say that the new girl is sad because she had to leave her home, her family, her school, her toys, her books and all her friends too.

But I've got an idea! There is something I can do to make her feel better when she's missing everything she's left behind...

This appears to be a gentle, age-appropriate picture book that introduces young readers to the experience of refugee children through the perspective of a classmate who wants to help. The story focuses on empathy, friendship, and finding ways to welcome someone who has experienced displacement and loss. It's designed to help children understand why a new student might seem withdrawn and how small acts of kindness can make a meaningful difference.