The Great (Food) Bank Heist

Onjali Q. Rauf's The Great (Food) Bank Heist is a warm-hearted detective story for 8 year olds about a boy whose family relies on the food bank, and the thieves who are emptying its shelves.

What happens

Nelson looks after his little sister Ashley after school while Mum works long shifts as a nurse. At the end of a Really Tricky Month, the cupboards are nearly bare. So Nelson plays the Pretend Game, opening every door as if there might be something tasty inside.

That's when they go to the Bank. Not a boring money bank, but one packed with tins and packets right up to the roof, where the volunteers are all smiles. To Nelson it's the greatest bank there is. He even keeps a secret list of treats he dreams of taking home (chocolate muffins went on it this morning).

Then rumours start at Breakfast Club. Someone is stealing from the food bank, and the bags Mum brings home are getting smaller.

So Nelson and his best friends Krish and Harriet plan a stake-out. Krish wants to be a spy and brings two raw steaks, in case of guard dogs (he's a vegetarian, so Nelson has to handle them). Harriet brings a detective coat, a massive box of doughnuts and a flask of coffee, because that's what they have in the films.

What's so lovely is how Rauf tells a hard story through a child's eyes. Mum invents games to make the hungry weeks bearable, like Master Chef with the oddest ingredients (tuna and jam pie, anyone?). Nelson's embarrassed and fiercely proud, and he'd do anything to stop Mum pawning another of her precious things.

It's honest about hunger, and it doesn't pretend it's easy. Ashley cries herself to sleep one night. Their dad left to start a new family. For some children that will feel very close to home. For others it's a gentle window into what life is like for lots of families. Either way, it's handled with real care, and there's plenty of fun too.

Later on there's a properly tense scene in a car park that might make a younger reader hold their breath.

What to read next

If Nelson and his friends win your reader over, The Boy at the Back of the Class is by the same author. It's told by a child with three best friends, and it all begins with an empty chair at the back of the classroom.