NO STARS TO WISH ON

A memorable novel about a small boy taken from his home and put in an orphanage run by bleak and unsympathetic nuns. Jack is undaunted, and his shining spirit makes this story unforgettable.

Jack loves telling jokes, but not many people laugh at them in the orphanage. I was home, asleep in my bed. Amrei shook me awake. ‘Jack! Jack! Wake up!’ She told me to run. I thought she was having a nightmare. I rolled over and went on snoring. I wish I had listened. I wish I had run. What's orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot! Ha Ha! What is a zoo keeper's favourite food? A zoo-chini! Ha Ha! Why do birds fly south in winter? Because it's too far to walk! Ha Ha! Here is the real joke: I am not who they think I am. They have brought me here because they think I am Number 49, but I'm not. I'm not an Orphan or an Unwanted Child. And that's who this place is for. I know because that's what it says above the door when you first come in. Number 49 is some other poor boy. Some boy without a sister or a mother or three Great Great Aunts or a Great Gram or a Gran or three cousins all living together. Zana Fraillon was born in Melbourne, but spent her early childhood in San Francisco. Zana has written two picture books for young children and a series for middle readers that has been published in five languages.