A book with such heart, as is typical of Onjali Q Rauf. Sensitively deals with challenging topics of a young carer and struggles with health and money through the eyes of a young girl in Wales who is determined to help her mum and keep her family together. It’s a lovely story of family and friendship and adventure.

The Letter with the Golden Stamp

Another superb read from Onjali Q Rauf, The Letter with the Golden Stamp is the story of Audrey, a young carer for her mother who desperately just wants life to be easier for her family, while keeping the secret of what is going on.

It’s a beautifully touching story of friendship, kindness and fear. Her friendships are not just with her school best friends Kavi and Inara, but also with the adults in her life - Mo the postman, Mrs Davies at the shop, Mrs Lumley on her street and her teachers. The story showcases the secret fear Audrey has of ‘them’ - the people she worries will take her away from her mum, who she is convinced is watching her family from the house across the road.

The book is a wonderful adventure, I would highly recommend for anyone teaching or in contact with young carers, however I would think carefully about children reading if they are in a caring position as to whether it is a suitable read for each individual.

What a lovely story that highlights the difficulties young carers and single income families regularly face. The main narrator is Audrey who is 9 years old. As an adult reading this, there were a few bits I questioned but I can imagine younger readers really connecting with this book.

Onjali did it again, and wrote another amazing story that opens our eyes and touch our hearts. It is really hard to imagine the life of a young carer, even as a teacher, this is a reality that we don’t usually discuss or think about. Thank you for bring this into discussion, and into our lives, in extremely well written way. Highly recommended!

The letter with the golden stamp
By Onjali Q Rauf
Published by Hachette Children's Group

Onjali Q Rauf does it again! Another page tuner full of love, honesty, compassion and real life. This is the story of a ten-year-old carer, her extensive stamp collection and a plan to get her mam the best medical treatment.

'I can't remember how old I was when I first started collecting stamps. But I've got a whole shoebox full of them now. Mam used to help me collect them ... Before she got so ill that she lost her job, her friends...everything. Now it's my job to take care of her and protect her - and my little brother and sister too. But to do that, I have to make Mam a Secret.'

In Swansea, Wales, Audrey has more than one secret to keep. But secrets make Audrey one of the best actresses on the planet - because no-one would ever think that, away from school, Audrey is the sole carer for her sick mam and her two younger siblings as well as being a thief.
A thief to make ends meet.
A thief to help her family survive.
A thief to keep them alive.

But when things go wrong Audrey finds herself on an adventure, looking for answers, support and help for her family.

Celebrating Young Carers, Onjali weaves a beautiful but heart- breaking story of how daily lives are a juggling act. To keep their loved ones alive behind closed doors, whilst going to school, The Letter with the Golden Stamp shares the fears and hopes of Young Carers everywhere, and the invisible sources of kindness from our community.

Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of Children’s literature.
#Netgalley

Beautifully written and touching, but not without flaws. While highlighting the plight of young carers and the struggles they face every day, the narrative is diminished by holes in the plot that even a 9 year old would pick up on. Knowledge of safeguarding and child welfare is widespread (especially among those it's policies are intended to protect) so there's absolutely no way that the main character in the book would be in that situation for as long as she was. For starters, there's zero chance a nine year old would be allowed to take or collect two Early Years children to/from school. This alone took me out of the narrative from early on.
Maybe my job in education gives me a view that others may not have, but I know for certain that the pupils in my setting would struggle with the "artistic license" shown here.
There is a good story here, but this isn't as strong as Rauf's other novels.

I would not recommend this as a book to be studied (more 'knowledgeable' children would see the plot holes) but it should certainly be on classroom bookshelves.

Another fantastic and emotional read from Onjali Q. Rauf.
Meet Audrey, a young girl who begins the story in Scotland Yard talking to a police officer. Why? No idea but Audrey will tell her own story of how she ended up there, what's going on with the mystery neighbour across the street and how, at such a young age, she cares for her Mum and younger siblings.
As always, there is an important message in the story, learning about the lives of young carers.
I especially like how the author adds additional information at the end, including links to websites etc.
A great book that had me in tears and that I now have on pre-order so I can share in school.

Audrey does everything she can to appear the same as everyone else at school. She doesn't want anyone finding out her secret. Audrey is a young carer and cares for her ill mam as well as helping to look after her younger siblings. Audrey's mam is already too ill to work and finding enough money for food is often a struggle. When she becomes even more unwell, Audrey knows it's going to take something drastic to get enough money, not only to feed her family but also to pay for the new equipment her mam needs if she is to stay living at home.

I enjoyed this story and found the characters to be likeable. The ending is all quite neatly tied up in terms of Audrey's family, albeit in a pretty idealistic way but I would have liked to hear a little more from Mo. I also found the whole David thing a bit odd, almost as if two story ideas were combined.

Most importantly, this book raises the profile of young carers for the age group where I feel they are becoming more likely to be missed. It gets noticed, for example, if younger children are not brought to school by a parent but the older they get, the less parents do the school run anyway and the children can go under the radar. I hope that this book reaches the children who will see themselves in it and show them that there is nothing to be ashamed of and that they are not alone.

Totally endearing, sob-inducing Young Carer story from a talented writer of child's-eye-view narrations.

I've been enamoured with Rauf's writing since her debut, saw the name here and clicked 'read'. And fell straight into another young person's story and life, with a few tears along the way.

Knowing the author has a 'young carer' background herself (written sensitively and thoughtfully about following the story) made this seem all the more real, though the premis itself is a little over-the-top to be real.

In a small town in Wales, Audrey regularly misses school to care for her mum, with degenerative osteoarthritis. Her dad has left her with two 4-year-old siblings and their good-days-bad-days mum. We only know this because Audrey is in Scotland Yard telling police officers about it, and about how she's ended up in their custody... and her story will become clearer as she tells it. In her own clear-eyed, innocent and yet wise beyond her years way.

Worried about social services spying on her family and splitting them up, Audrey is determined to find out if new neighbours and their suspicious lights/behaviour are watching her. But she also knows her family needs money, and her mum needs help... but how can a 9-year-old, with a stamp-collecting postman friend, two willing best friends and a determination to sort out her own problems possibly manage to juggle everything and give her family what they need?

This really did hit a nerve, Audrey is so wonderfully innocent - using a kitchen roll tube as a telescope, with her 'hypnosis' about the new neighbours being spies - yet she's also so magnificently managing so much without even acknowledging the effort. The police characters and adults around her show the reader this with their reactions to her, despite her lack of understanding of their emotions.

The story moves quickly to quite a daring segment when we find out exactly how our 9-year-old heroine managed to get from Wales to London... and we just hope all can be resolved for her.

Wonderful, wonderful writing and story. And thank you to Rauf for bringing Audrey and those like her to our attention.

For ages 7 and above. With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

Onjali Q. Rauf has such a way with words that will both captivate and emotionally break you within a few pages, and in this new release, she has done it again!

What a tear-jerker! Audrey is a real hero, as is every young carer. This story is an absolute must read for anyone working with children; we need to be aware of what young carers go through. The things that Audrey has to do, even before she leaves the house in the morning, are incredible. With 2 younger siblings to look after, mum to help and chores to do, it's a wonder she has time to do what she does. With the (unknowing) help of her lovely neighbours, Audrey sets off on a daring adventure. The way it is told, through her eyes, makes it even more heartbreaking. A truly super book that will open up so many important conversations for some of our young carers.

Over the last few years Onjali Q Rauf has written some of the most original and popular children's stories- each with its own unique story reflecting the world of young people from all heritages in the UK today.

The Letter with the Golden Stamp is another winner with an incredibly powerful and important message- the hidden world of child carers.
Audrey is a carer for her mother who is gradually failing in her mobility ; she also cares for her two young siblings Peck( Gregory) and Kat ( Katherine Hepburn ). Mum is a fan of old movies- hence Audrey( Hepburn ).

A new neighbour moves in across the street and Audrey is convinced they are spying on her and the family so that her mum could be taken away; so begins a mystery as Kat and her two best friends Kavi and Inara try to find out who is the mysterious and elusive resident.

But the story takes a deeper turn when Audrey's mum's health worsens and she decides to try a contact her father who left the family home some years before to ask for financial help and then try to visit him. ; a multitude of problems and events then take place

The story is told through a recount as Audrey has to tell the story of her daily life and all that is happening to the police in Scotland Yard! Audrey lives in Wales. She reveals the challenges in her daily life as she has to bunk off school and even shoplift to survive.

The beauty of the story is how much it gradually builds up and really gets under your skin as a reader- clearly forcing acknowledgment and reflection towards the forgotten heroes- child carers.

Audrey, her family, friends, neighbours , Mo the Postman and Mrs Davies from the local shop are all warm hearted generous characters.
No denial but by the end of the book you are truly moved by Audrey's plight, the discovery of who is actually living across the road and the solidarity and love of neighbours and friends.

In a world that can seem very bleak at times, Onjali Q Rauf has highlighted the plight of the million young carers in the UK but with love, compassion and hope.

Highly recommended for upper KS2 readers/classes- a book I will be recommending to family, friends and colleagues in education

The Letter With the Golden Stamp by Onjali Rauf centres around Audrey, a primary school girl who is a carer for her mum and twin brother, and sister. Audrey has a lot of responsibility for her family, making sure her mum takes her medication, shopping, and taking her brother and sister to school every day.
Whilst at school Audrey finds respite with her two young friends and when a new neighbour moves opposite the house, Audrey's life begins to change. Audrey is convinced that the neighbour is a spy and she sets out to find out exactly who they are - roping in the neighbours and particularly Mo the postman.
Onjali sensitively covers a subject which seldom is discussed - the responsibility of young carers - as she weaves her tale, it becomes apparent just how much work and pressure young carers have to deal with.

A detailed, well-written story which is sure to hook the reader in from the first page.

This book has you hooked from the very start, and it is hard to put down. Rauf's beautiful writing presents Audrey as an authentic irresistible character and her forthright account of her own story has the reader totally enthralled in much the same way it does the police officers she tells it to, and you share all their tears and their smiles along the way. This tale is both heart-wrenching and heart-warming, and is a powerful tribute to the power of community, resilience, and the best of humanity (especially posties!) The information at the end of the book about child carers adds a level of reality that will undoubtedly spark comment and discussion. This is a real gem