In No Ballet Shoes in Syria, eleven-year-old Aya is a dancer. Her head full of dreams of ballet, music and her wonderful teacher, Madame Belova. She is also an asylum seeker. Recently arrived in Britain from Syria, she and her mother and baby brother find themselves entangled in the complex asylum process - passed from pillar to post, without anywhere to really call home. Her mother is depressed and young Aya feels responsible for looking after her family - a promise she made to her beloved Dad when they were separated on the journey to Britain. Catherine Bruton empathetically tells the story of eleven-year-old Aya, who carries the trauma of having escaped the civil war in Aleppo with her mother and baby brother (having lost her father in the Mediterranean). The book cleverly and powerfully switches between the current story of Aya trying to audition for a prestigious ballet school, whilst her family appeals their rejected plea for asylum, and Aya’s memories of her home in Syria.

Kortom een boek om in één ruk uit te lezen, niet enkel voor de doelgroep, maar ook voor volwassenen. Welcome to Coronation Road – a kaleidoscope of clashing cultures and parallel lives. There’s Maggie and her politician mum in their big house. There’s Tokes and his mum in a tiny bedsit, running from trouble. And there’s the ruthless Starfish gang, breeding fear throughout the neighbourhood. Aya is eleven years old and has just arrived in Britain with her mum and baby brother, seeking asylum from war in Syria. A moving story about one of the big issues of our time, told with wonderful clarity, and incredibly touching.” – Axel Scheffler, illustrator of The GruffaloSo, first choose your five objects. They can be very ordinary things, or rather outlandish ones (maybe a mixture of the two is best, it’s up to you…) Alternatively, you could work with a friend and choose objects for each other. John Boyne is under fire for daring, as a white Irish gay man, to write a children’s book about a trans child. Catherine Bruton, the author of this novel about a Syrian refugee with a passion for ballet, clearly expects to get the same treatment and has felt compelled to write a defence of her actions at the end. I’m sorry I’m not a refugee, but this is important, kinda thing. Personally, I wouldn’t give the time of day to those who think you have to be Noddy to write a book about him... but there we are. It’s two years since her philandering first (and only) love Joel walked out taking the last of her self-confidence with him and she has remained resolutely single ever since.

Education Shed Ltd, Severn House, Severn Bridge, Riverside North, Bewdley, Worcestershire, UK, DY12 1AB I really enjoyed reading the Afterword at the end. The author explained there how she grew up addicted to books that made you focus on your dreams, etc, but as she got older she realised the value of books that broaden your mindset. The type of books that encourage empathy towards those who have experienced trials you personally know nothing of. So when she wrote this book, she intended to blend those two themes together.Aya is a Syrian asylum seeker, looking after her mother and baby brother in the cold, unfamiliar city of Manchester – but she is also a talented ballet dancer. I liked the fact that the asylum system and her individual case was so clearly explained but also the fact that despite their different experiences, she and the other girls found common ground and understanding.

In No Ballet Shoes in Syria I tell the story of 11 year old Aya who has just arrived in Britain with her mum and baby brother, seeking asylum from war in Syria. When Aya stumbles across a local ballet class, the formidable dance teacher Miss Helena spots her exceptional talent and believes Aya has the potential to earn a prestigious ballet scholarship. But at the same time Aya and her family must fight to remain in the country, to make a home for themselves and to find Aya’s father – separated from the rest of the family during the perilous journey from Syria.In a community centre in a run down area of Manchester where 'Manchester welcomes refugees', 11-year-old Aya sits day after day, hour after hour, to see the case worker who can hopefully help them to claim asylum. Her mother speaks little English and is withdrawn and poorly. Around her is a hotchpotch of similar stories, families split, lives lost, broken English, all desperately wanting to feel safe and have somewhere to call home. Her life in Syria, Aleppo all but a distant memory, at times a recurring nightmare. e.issuu.com/embed.html?d=repro_anothertwistinthetale_combined__1_&hideIssuuLogo=true&u=nosycrow Teaching Resources A ballet shoe reminds her of her dance school in Syria, of her friends and her beloved dance teacher –of the life she once knew before the war