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Refugee Boy
'Courageously humorous ... and heartbreaking' Guardian
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 4,470 ratings, 407 reviews)
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Refugee Boy
$2499
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Refugee Boy is ideal for young adult readers seeking stories with emotional depth and social relevance. It is especially suited for fans of authors like Angie Thomas and Malorie Blackman, and supports classroom exploration of themes such as identity, belonging, and resilience.
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See moreThe funny but very poignant tale of a young refugee, from acclaimed storyteller Benjamin Zephaniah - now featuring extra content to mark its 25th anniversary
The funny but very poignant tale of a young refugee, from acclaimed storyteller Benjamin Zephaniah - now featuring extra content to mark its 25th anniversary
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Selected for The Pleasure List 2026 - Hay Festival's crowd-sourced list of the 39 most unputdownable books ever
'Playful, obstinate and courageously humorous ... hilarious and later heartbreaking' Guardian
'Sweet, funny, highly inventive' Yorkshire Post
The poignant but funny tale of a young refugee now marking its 25th anniversary with a new foreword by Joseph Coelho, former Children's Laureate
Acclaimed performance poet and novelist Benjamin Zephaniah's honest, wry and poignant story of a young refugee left in London is of even more power and pertinence today than when it was first published.
Life is not safe for Alem. His father is Ethiopian, his mother Eritrean. Their countries are at war, and Alem is welcome in neither place.
So Alem is excited to spend a holiday in London with his father – until he wakes up to find him gone. What seems like a betrayal is in fact an act of love, but now Alem is alone in a strange country, and he must forge his own path...
Very accessible and easy to read; perfect for reading for pleasure and classroom discussion. QR code link to new Teachers' Notes included in anniversary edition.
Brilliantly written and with a real ear for dialogue, fans of Angie Thomas and Malorie Blackman will love Benjamin Zephaniah's novels for young adult readers:
Refugee Boy
Face
Gangsta Rap
Teacher's Dead
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The Guardian praises Zephaniah's writing as "playful, obstinate and courageously humorous," balancing hilarity and heartbreak. The Yorkshire Post finds it "sweet, funny, highly inventive," while the York Press highlights its "humour and innocence" alongside a "sweetness of tone." These reviews underscore Zephaniah's ability to blend streetwise dialogue with universal themes, creating a vibrant, heartfelt narrative.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781408894996
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 07 September 2017
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
Audience: Teenage
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 26.0mm
Width: 128.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 212g
Pages: 304
About the Author
A high-profile international author with an enormous breadth of appeal, Benjamin Zephaniah was perhaps best known for his performance poetry with a political edge for adults and ground-breaking performance poetry for children. Alongside his poetry he created novels and plays, wrote and performed music and had a recurring role as preacher Jeremiah Jesus in the BBC series Peaky Blinders. In his novels for young people, which include Face, Refugee Boy, Gangsta Rap and Teacher’s Dead, Zephaniah tackled vital themes that resonate as much today as they did upon their first publication.
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The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah
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Nature Trail Board Book
A joy to read with small children - Independent Chunky board book edition of this joyful celebration of nature and the wonder of the world around us by legendary poet and performer Benjamin Zephaniah, one of The Times' top 50 British post-war writers. At the bottom of my garden, there's a hedgehog and a frog, And a lot of creepy-crawlies...Board book$1800Elsewhere:$1999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Leave the Trees, Please
Follow a little boy's friendship and journey with one tree, in this powerful and beautiful love letter to nature. From master wordsmith, Benjamin Zephaniah, comes a breathtaking new poem and story showing how trees offer us the perspective and connection to nature we crave in our daily lives. The final scene is an honest representation of the devastating effects of...Hardback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Pre-orderLet Dem Know
A new collection combining Benjamin Zephaniah's three Puffin Poetry books with a previously unpublished spoken-word poem and a new foreword by George the Poet 'a shining light ... showing us all the power of words to delight, enthral and challenge' - Joseph Coelho Musical, plain-spoken, playful and powerful, Benjamin Zephaniah's poetry has been lighting up British cultural life since the...Paperback$2600Unit price /UnavailableOut 17 Nov 2026Pre-order -
Refugee Boy
An eye for an eye. It’s very simple. You choose your homeland like a hyena picking and choosing where he steals his next meal from. Scavenger. Yes, you grovel to the feet of Mengistu and when his people spit at you and kick you from the bowl, you scuttle across the border. Scavenger. As a violent civil war rages back...Paperback$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Pre-orderRewild
From one of our most beloved poets, Benjamin Zephaniah, and bestselling illustrator Emily Sutton comes this powerful and uplifting book for children - an urgent, hopeful call to restore our relationship with Earth, and rewild our future. In the beginning, the land was bare. Humanity rose, learned to speak, to farm, to build, to imagine. With language, art, science and...Hardback$3499Unit price /UnavailableOut 15 Sep 2026Pre-order -
People Need People
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Nature Trail
A joy to read with small children - Independent An uplifting celebration of nature and the wonder of the world around us. By legendary poet and performer Benjamin Zephaniah, one of The Times' top 50 British post-war writers, and beautifully illustrated by the award-winning Nila Aye. At the bottom of my garden, there's a hedgehog and a frog, And a...PaperbackSold Out -
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A joyful picture book that celebrates the magic of poetry, from the award-winning makers of Nature Trail and People Need People. There's a poem on your face There's a poem in the sky There's a poem in outta space There are poems passing by Poems are EVERYWHERE - in your dreams, on your fingers and in your teeth! There's even...HardbackSold Out -
People Need People
A joyous book to share, with charming details to spot on every spread - BookTrust To walk to To talk to To cry and rely on, People will always need people . . . From the creators of Nature Trail comes an uplifting picture book about the power of people, and the importance of connecting with others. This timely poem...HardbackSold Out
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