Christophe's Story

This is an honourable book, which aims to give a voice to one of the many displaced children who find themselves in classrooms across the UK. I had not heard of the author before, although her publisher, Frances Lincoln, has a fine reputation for its multi-cultural list. I learnt from Nicki Cornwell’s website that she has a background in work with both troubled children in institutions and asylum seekers. This experience informs a sensitive book which, in addition to tackling a delicate subject, has the added responsibility of making it accessible to primary school readers.

The book explores the vexed question of voicing a refugee’s ordeal on their behalf by making the issue, itself, an integral part of the story. Christophe is a Rwandan child who has escaped the conflict in his country with his parents, although his baby brother, Matthieu, has died. When eight-year-old Christophe arrives in England, he hasn’t been to school for two years and has to cope with lessons in a third language (his parents speak French and Kinyarwanda). He is a quick learner, but although he will tackle any non-fiction text, he resolutely refuses to read stories. When part of Christophe’s own dramatic story emerges in the playground, his teacher, Miss Finch, thinks she has found a way of reaching him by writing it down for him. Christophe is furious – his beloved Grandfather, Babi, a story-teller in Rwanda, has taught him that ‘A story should be kept in the head and told from the mouth… and when you tell it you use a big or a little voice. And you tell it with your hands like this!’

As Miss Finch recognises her mistake and encourages Christophe to tell his own story first to the class and then to the whole school, the book demonstrates the journey that both pupil and teacher must undertake in understanding.

I am not sure how many children would pick up this book for themselves – and there might even be a danger of its precipitating difficult memories for some – but, carefully introduced by a teacher, it should have multiple uses in the classroom. Some parents, too, might find it helpful in assisting their child to negotiate the confusing new world they find themselves in while still dealing with a traumatic past.