Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet: 1

Product Information

I liked the character of Omar and how we were given some information and an image of each character at the beginning of the book before the story began. This is because I was therefore able to create a more visual image throughout the story. As mentioned above, I also liked the way the story was presented and the fonts and images used to help understand the story. I liked the character of Daniel in the story and how the character changed throughout the book, giving reasons for his behaviour and treatment of others when him and Omar are lost. This really helped me to connect to the character and may be relatable to some children who may read the book. I also think that children would be able to relate to this story due to the age of Omar and his friends - it would be similar to children in key stage 2. Previously published as 'The Muslims', this was the winner of the Little Rebels Award in June 2018. The text has been revised, expanded with new scenes and re-illustrated. About This Edition ISBN: I really liked this book as it felt unique compared to other children's books I have read. This was in terms of it being informally written, being in 1st person and the use of different texts and fonts to reflect the characters feelings. The text and font also highlighted words that needed more emphasis and exaggeration. I also liked the fact that this book promotes diversity about a Muslim boy and is family but is also very informative about their religion and traditions. Therefore, I think this would be a great book to teach children about this religion in the classroom as it is a fun read and there are parts in the story that explain the relgion in very simplistic ways in an informal manner for children to understand.

The first and most obvious teaching point comes from the approach to different religions, in this case the characters were Muslim. Mian has included facts about this religion, such as the names for each prayer of the day, which will allow the children to learn about Muslims beliefs and traditions whilst reading. This would be a great teaching opportunity, to get the children to learn about different religions and appreciate the differences between people. Omar’s mother insists that they introduce themselves to their new neighbour, Mrs Rodgers, who is very rude to the family and is later overheard on the phone to her son referring to Omar’s family as they Muslims’ in a negative way.Wat ik ook leuk vond aan het boek is dat Omar en zijn familie moslims zijn en we van alles leren over verschillende dingen in hun leven. Ik wist al een flink aantal dingen, maar ik heb ook wat nieuwe dingen geleerd. Ik moest wel lachen (net als Omar en zijn zus) hoe zijn moeder soms door het huis vloog omdat ze haar hoofddoek weer eens kwijt was en ze de deur open moest doen. We lezen ook over verschillende feesten, zoals het suikerfeest die ik wel eens heb gevierd met mijn basisschoolklas en ook met een vriendinnetje dat moslim(a) was. Omar’s funny, relatable narrative is the perfect answer to the call for both mirrors and windows to fill bookshelves with diverse stories. I have to be honest, upon seeing the cover of this book I definitely wasn't pulled towards reading it. It looked too -comic like' for me. However, as the saying goes 'don't judge a book by it's cover', well that couldn't be more true in this case. I ended up loving it!! Firstly, the book is written in first person from the POV of Omar, a young muslim boy who has had to leave his old life behind and come and start a new one in England. I like this style of writing because it is almost childlike and very simplistic; therefore making it so much easier and accessible for any child to relate too. My favourite parts of the book were when Omar educated us as readers about his family traditions as Muslim's such as Ramadan and fasting and the different types of prayer. I think this would be a great book to use as a cross curricular link between RE and literacy, and I cannot wait to use it in my classroom. Omar and his family have just moved, and he is NOT excited about starting at a new school. What if the work is too hard or the kids are mean or the teacher is a zombie alien?!

Planet Omar can link to stories about friendship and overcoming bullies, such as Cloud Busting. There is also links to books about acceptance of others such as Skellig by David Almond, Beegu by Alexis Deacon and Welcome to Our World by Moira Butterfield. There is also a link to The Twits by Ronald Dahl as Omar believes that people with ugly thoughts are ugly people and that appearance isn’t the key to being a good person. Ronald Dahl writes “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely”.Previously published as The Muslims, which won the Little Rebels book prize in 2018, this newly illustrated and reworked version of Zanib Mian's hilarious, sweet story is an absolute delight. Omar is a young Muslim boy with a huge imagination. He and his family (his mom, dad, and two siblings) are adjusting to a new move (new house, new school) and approaching the month of Ramadan. Unfortunately, the adjustment process is NOT smooth. First, there’s a neighbor who doesn’t seem to like Omar’s family and a bully at school who keeps making fun of him. Things come a head when Omar and Daniel, the bully get lost together during a school trip. Can Omar escape all this trouble he keeps attracting? The Good There’s a school trip to the science museum, which Omar’s parents are thrilled about! Except, Omar ends up in a group with Daniel, not Charlie. Whilst on the London Underground the pair lose the rest of their class. Which unexpectedly leads to Daniel bursting into tears and wetting himself. Omar takes charge and gets the pair to Baker Street where he ends up praying to Allah for help. As it happens the pair end up at a Mosque where they manage to get help. Daniel is so grateful. I think most children would be able to make some connection with this book from their home life, as it talks about the use of modern technology, Xbox and iPhones, which most children have heard about. I think this book would be good for children in upper KS2 and could help them and understand the transition between schools and it may help them feel less nervous about their transition to secondary school.