The Night Bus Hero

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I've been getting into trouble for as long I can remember. Usually I don't mind 'cos some of my best, most brilliant ideas have come from sitting in detention. But recently it feels like no one believes me about anything - even when I'm telling the truth! And it's only gotten worse since I played a prank on the old man who lives in the park. Everyone thinks I'm just a bully. They don't believe I could be a hero. But I'm going to prove them all wrong... But when a prank on a homeless person gets out of hand this leads to Hector being befriended - somewhat reluctantly at first, by Mei-Li – who introduces Hector to the shelter she helps in and thus to an understanding of some of the pressures and causes of homelessness. An important social message for all – but this book is also a who-done-it trying to solve mysterious, slightly odd crimes whilst the graffiti left at the scenes of these crimes seem to indicate that homeless people are involved in some way. The winners of the Diverse Book Awards 2023 have been announced, with one winner from each of the four categories announced: Picture book, Children... The Primary School Library Alliance is calling on the government to match-fund the private investment it has brought into helping primary schools c...

Readers of around 8 and above will find this a very smooth and intriguing story with some appealing characters. I enjoyed this story very much - the tranformation of the main character, Hector, from nasty bully to hero was relatively simplistic, but effective and powerful.The boy's an absolute menace.' 'He's a bully. A lost cause!' 'Why can't he be more like his sister?' Skateboarding around Piccadilly Circus with a friend on afternoon, Hector decides to stay longer by himself, when his sees the homeless man, whose trolley he'd sunk and whose name he has learned is Thomas, suddenly appear and break into a run. Naturally, when another statue goes missing, Hector is convinced it's Thomas doing it, and decides to find him and turn him over to the police. And to do that, he needs to enlist the help of Mei-Li, but will she help someone who she clearly does not like? And together can Mei-Li and Thomas help Hector overcome his need to be bad? Getting in trouble is what Hector does best. He knows that not much is expected of him. In fact, he gets some of his most brilliant prank ideas while sitting in detention. But how far is too far? When Hector plays a prank on a homeless man and is seen and shamed by a schoolmate, he reaches a turning point. He wants to be viewed differently and decides to do something that will change his fate for the better. But will anyone take him seriously?

In this follow-up to 2020’s The One and Only Bob, Ruby the elephant is still living at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary. When a spate of London landmark sculptures are suddenly stolen, including Paddington Bear and the Eros statue in Piccadilly Circus, Hector is convinced the crimes have been carried out by homeless people led by Thomas - but no sooner has he reported Thomas to the police than he realises he's got it horribly wrong. With the help of his enemy Mei Lei, Hector must race against time to make sure justice is done - but that's not the only thing he needs to change.

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Raúf's craft is so beautiful, you are immersed in the story as soon as you open the book and everything feels so real.

Hector has parents that travel the world on charity work missions, a younger brother (Hercules) and older sister (Helen - you might see the theme there), and a couple of 'friends' at school who goad him on as he steals money and sweets and generally makes life in his school a bit of a hell for a lot of other children. Showing off one day at the park, he ends up sending a homeless man's trolley into the lake, observed by Mei-Li, a girl in his class. Unrepentant, he does however later see this homeless man appear to be the culprit behind a series of bizarre but fiendishly clever robberies in the city of London. A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl. But recently it feels like no one believes me about anything - even when I'm telling the truth! And it's only gotten worse since I played a prank on the old man who lives in the park. Wow! I don’t even know where to start about this book. Onjali Rauf again with another fantastic book. It touches on so many incredible themes. I love how Hector is seen as just a naughty child, but Onjali dives deeper and explains that there is so much more to his behaviour than meets the eye. His home life is not ideal, and he turns to acting out and bullying others as a way of dealing with this and getting the attention he so desperately craves.

In The Night Bus Hero, we meet Hector who has been getting into trouble for as long as he can remember. He doesn't mind being in detention often, because that's when he comes up with his best ideas. Along with his two friends, Will and Katie, Hector is feared by all the pupils at his primary school and the teachers think of him first when there is any kind of incident. His parents are often working away from home, but they express their disappointment in his behaviour when they are around.

Can Hector and Mei-Li get to the bottom of these crimes? Can Hector’s new understanding help him be less of a bully? Could Hector turn out to be a bit of a hero? I do think a massive theme of this book is to not judge a book by its cover. There is more to Hector than meets the eye, and the same with Mei-Lei, and the homeless characters of Thomas and Catwomen. Hector is a bully who doesn’t really care about anyone and thinks his cringey parents don’t care about him. His teachers don’t seem to like him (he certainly hates them), he particularly dislikes teacher’s pet Mei Lei, and he devotes his time to being mean to other kids and making them give him sweets. Hector is not your normal choice for a protagonist. Rather than someone who is boisterous and sometimes misbehaves, Hector is an actual bully. But it’s this choice that gives the story so much impact; his growth can be greater because of his starting point. I have to admit that this does make him a slightly difficult character to cheer on though, at least in the beginning! Told from the perspective of a bully, this book explores themes of bullying and homelessness, while celebrating kindness, friendship and the potential everyone has to change for the good. About This Edition ISBN:This isn't exactly a 'story of redemption' but it does take in several angles and does so successfully, threading Hector's growing understanding of homelessness with a confusing friendship with someone he's bullied, and even a mystery/crime plot as they attempt to prove who is committing the thefts. Meanwhile, at home, Hector learns his father is working on a new film about homeless people. And also that someone has been stealing statues and framing the homeless by leaving special marks that only they would understand. Thereby begins a bit of a roller coaster adventure to discover just who else is targetting the homeless community after valued London icons start mysteriously disappearing. There is a bit of a Scooby Doo feel to this part of the story, but it does help to lighten the mood a little, without taking away from the main messages of the story... i.e. don't judge books by their covers and take the time to get to know people. Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark... I've been getting into trouble for as long I can remember. Usually I don't mind 'cos some of my best, most brilliant ideas have come from sitting in detention.