Accidental Trouble Magnet: Book 1 (Planet Omar)

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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. Zanib Mian's books have featured on BBC's Cbeebies Bedtime Stories and The Guardian for their contribution to diversity in children's literature. Using a text in this way adds value and purpose by giving children the opportunity to express their possible experiences and feelings on these topics. You might not know me yet,but once you open this book you’ll laugh so hard that snot will come out of your nose. En hoewel Omar zich afvraagt waar hij dan naar toe moet als alle moslims uit het land geschopt worden, en hier toch wel wat zorgen over heeft, is het ook duidelijk dat deze jongen trots is op zijn geloof.

The book layout reminds me of ‘the Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ stories because of the use of illustrations and different font styles. 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. I liked the character of Omar and how we were given some information and an image of each character at the beginning of the book before the story began. Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian is a hilariously fun storybook for KS2 children.

The book provides a good base to continue to explore religious festivals in Islam, for example Eid, during religious education lessons. While I appreciate a book written in the style of Diary of a Wimpy Kid with a Muslim main character, this book fell short on many levels.

What I really enjoyed about this book is Omar’s imagination, he finds ordinary things and creates his own world which is enjoyable to read. Liz's comments: While Omar really is very funny, he is also clearly about 10 years old, or in fourth grade. This book is about a boy, who is going to move house and is trying to settle into his new school, with a big bully right behind him every where he goes and he is also a Muslim. Je kent me misschien nog niet, maar als je dit boek opendoet moet je zo hard lachen dat het snot uit je neus spuit.

My parents decided it would be a good idea to move house AND move me to a new school at the same time.

The first and most obvious teaching point comes from the approach to different religions, in this case the characters were Muslim. When Omar’s family go to Manchester to visit family, Omar asks his cousin Reza about what Daniel said and agreed that they will be kicked out.After studying molecular cell biology at University College London, she taught science in secondary school before deciding to move into children’s publishing. However, after Omar’s mother went with Mrs Rodgers to the hospital and Omar found help for him and Daniel when they were lost, their views changed based on the actions and interactions from Omar’s family.