Author: Morris Gleitzman

Published: 2005

Publisher: Pearson United Kingdom

Format: Hardback

Pages: 176

Suitable: Secondary (Ages 11+)

Jamal loves playing football. His little sister is even better - but girls playing football is against the law in Afghanistan. The family must leave their home and begin a long and dangerous journey to Australia only to find that Australia isn't as welcoming as they had thought.

Themes

Family, government oppression, discrimination, asylum seekers, dreams vs. reality, relationships and responsibility.

Teaching points

Ideal for mixed ability classes. Suitable length and short chapters make it easily manageable for classroom study. Many opportunities to explore framework objectives relating to characterisation, pace, dialogue and humour