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. LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. It teaches children that bullying or unkind behaviour can be overcome, and often getting to know the person can be the best way to solve this. One of Omar's best friends, Daniel, has a little sister who goes to hospital regularly. He usually finds it easy to cheer her up when she's there, but this time he feels he needs to do something extra special. This book follows a young Muslim boy called Omar. Him and his family have just moved house as his mum has just gotten her dream job. As a result of this, he has to start a new school and this made him very nervous as he thought his new teacher might be an alien. As you read this book, you follow the everyday life of Omar and you also go through the struggles that he is encountering at school, specifically with a young boy called Daniel. However, later on in the book when Omar and Daniel get lost, they forget all of their differences and join together to try and find the rest of their class.

My parents decided it would be a good idea to move house AND move me to a new school at the same time. As if I didn’t have a hard enough time staying out of trouble at home, now I’ve also got to try and make new friends. What’s worse, the class bully seems to think I’m the perfect target.When Daniel’s sister Suzy has to go into hospital for an operation, Daniel recruits Omar and his dad, Charlie and Maryam to assist him in Operation Kind. Suzy’s favourite author is appearing at a book signing and nothing would cheer her up as much as a signed book. The only trouble is that the book signing is happening in Glasgow, over four hours away by train. Will they make it in time? This is a really hilariously funny, warm hearted, easy-to-read tale, with a gentle moral of how if people work together they can achieve wonderful things. Zanib Mian’s wit and great ability to create believable characters makes this a must read. The illustrations by Nasaya Mafaridik create the perfect mood and this new series will very much suit fans of Tom Gates. This is book two in the Planet Omar series, and readers will also enjoy Zanib Mian’s Accidental Trouble Magnet (previously published as The Muslims) but it’s not necessary to read this first.

I like the themes in the book and I enjoyed exploring Omar’s positive thoughts to help him understand that he is different. I liked the different fonts and pictures in the book. This will encourage children to read the book and challenge themselves to identify what the images represent. Welkom in de fantastische gedachten van Omar! Je kent me misschien nog niet, maar als je dit boek opendoet moet je zo hard lachen dat het snot uit je neus spuit. The book provides a good base to continue to explore religious festivals in Islam, for example Eid, during religious education lessons. It is one of the few books I have read which explored religion in this way, but I really enjoyed how the author used it throughout the story, to make connections.

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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. 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”. 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. Want met een nieuwe school komen nieuwe kinderen, en kinderen kunnen zo gemeen zijn tegen elkaar. “Jij bent moslim… Jullie kunnen maar beter teruggaan naar je eigen land voordat we jullie er allemaal uitschoppen.” En hoewel dit boek zich in Engeland afspeelt, is dit ook al maar al te herkenbaar in een Nederlandse context. Deze agressie komt voort uit onbegrip, uit een buurvrouw die niets te maken wil hebben met haar nieuwe buren - ze maken herrie, ze gebruiken te veel kruiden en dat stinkt - totdat ze een keer oog in oog met elkaar komen te staan. Allebei mensen. It’s not so much a dislike of the book, but I don’t like that Mrs Rodgers and Daniel actually needed to revive an act of kindness before being non-judgmental. I think it’s a shame that this is what happens and children have to suffer this.it is commented on that Mrs Rodgers views are probably front what she has read in newspapers and how those of the Muslim faith are often linked to terrorism and that therefore is the basis of her opinions. Again, this is a true representation of how many people make their views and acts as a reminder to not always trust the media.