The Letter with the Golden Stamp

From Onjali Q. Rauf, author of The Boy at the Back of the Class, comes another incredible story, told with humour and heart. Touching on the challenges navigated by children caring for loved ones at home, this story brings into focus their hardships and worries, alongside the unexpected, invisible sources of kindness which can change their lives.
'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. A secret no-one can ever find out about. Not even my best friends at school, or Mo, our postman.

Or the stranger living in the house across the street. The one no-one has seen, but who I know is spying on us.

The one I think might be Them...'

Deep in the heart of Swansea, Wales, lives a small girl with some big secrets to keep. Secrets that make her 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 increasingly sick mam and her two younger siblings ... or a seasoned thief.

With her worlds threatened by the arrival of a mysterious, invisible neighbour, behind whose closed curtains and shut front door may lie a spy, Audrey must take matters into her own hands to save her family.

Inspired by her beloved collection of stamps, her friendly neighbourhood postman (and fellow stamp collector), and her two best friends, off Audrey must go: on an adventure that will lead her to places - and hearts - she never knew existed.

Celebrating the hidden army of Young Carers daily keeping their loved ones alive behind closed doors, and the everyday s/heroes that surround them, The Letter with the Golden Stamp delves into the fears and hopes of Young Carers everywhere, and the invisible sources of kindness knocking on all our doors.

Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2019, the Blue Peter Book Prize 2019, and other international accolades since, Onjali Q Rauf's first book The Boy at the Back of the Class was inspired by a baby met in the refugee camps of Calais, France, whilst on an aid convoy for her organisation, O's Refugee Aid Team. Telling the story of a group of friends befriending a refugee boy at school with depth and humour, it continues to be a must-read for children and adults around the world.

Rauf's second release went on to win the Diversity Book Award for Children's Fiction (UK) 2020. The Star Outside My Window drew on her experiences as founder and CEO of Making Herstory - an organisation working to help women and children flee the impacts of male-led domestic violence. Her ongoing works with homeless communities, food banks, homeless shelters, as well as her personal experiences of racism, sexism and bullying, led to the releases of The Night Bus Hero, The Great Food Bank Heist and ultimately, The Lion Above the Door.

Following an influx of enquiries from children about how to aid refugees and the homeless, or fight for the environment and the rights of women and girls, Rauf wrote her first non-fiction title Hope on the Horizon, as a personal guide to budding young activists everywhere.

In 2023, a deep love for funny sayings coupled with that of travelling, led to the release Where Magic Grows: a collection of of seven original fairy tales in which Rauf celebrates the peoples and cultures of such lands as Syria, Egypt, Japan and India.

Rauf was recognised for her services to literature and women's rights in the 2022 New Year Honours.