Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow: The most joyful book you'll read this year! bookcover

Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow: The most joyful book you'll read this year!

Benjamin Dean, Sandhya Prabhat

WINNER OF THE DIVERSE BOOK AWARDS 2022. A rainbow-filled, JOYOUS debut from a hugely exciting new talent. Perfect for 9+ readers and fans of Elle McNicoll, Lisa Thompson and Onjali Rauf’s The Boy at the Back of the Class.

My name’s Archie Albright, and I know two things for certain:  
1. My mum and dad kind of hate each other, and they’re not doing a great job of pretending that they don’t anymore.  
2. They’re both keeping a secret from me, but I can’t figure out what.

Things aren’t going great for Archie Albright. His dad’s acting weird, his mum too, and all he wants is for everything to go back to normal, to three months before when his parents were happy and still lived together. When Archie sees a colourful, crumpled flyer fall out of Dad’s pocket, he thinks he may have found the answer. Only problem? The answer might just lie at the end of the rainbow, an adventure away.  Together with his best friends, Bell and Seb, Archie sets off on a heartwarming and unforgettable journey to try and fix his family, even if he has to break a few rules to do it…

Praise for ME, MY DAD AND THE END OF THE RAINBOW:

‘A life-affirming, must-read’ – The Independent ‘One of the most joyful books you’ll read this year’ – The Bookseller ‘The novel wears its heart on its sleeve, and it is a very big heart’ – Financial Times ‘Joyful, funny and heartfelt’ – Katie Tsang, co-author of SAM WU IS NOT AFRAID and DRAGON MOUNTAIN ‘This joyful book has such heart, expertly navigating serious subjects around family, gender, and sexuality. Celebratory and advocating kindness, I’d recommend this book to all middle-grade readers. A real tear-jerker!’ – Steven Butler, author of THE NOTHING TO SEE HERE HOTEL ‘So adorable, funny, and heartwarming. I loved it!’ – Alice Oseman, author of the HEARTSTOPPER series ‘A joyful and thoughtful celebration of family, identity and inclusivity’ – Anna James, author of the PAGES & CO. series ‘A brilliant, smart book with a good heart. It’s like a warm hug and I can’t wait for the next one’ – Danny Wallace, author of HAMISH AND THE WORLDSTOPPERS and THE DAY THE SCREENS WENT BLANK   ‘A powerful new voice in children’s fiction’ – Aisha Bushby, author of A POCKETFUL OF STARS  ‘I will recommend this book to everyone for years and years to come’ – Gavin Hetherington, BookTuber - How to Train Your Gavin

Latest reviews

I thought that at the start, the barrier between Archie and his dad was pretty sad. Seb and Bel were really nice to him. At the end when they all went to pride it was really sweet

This book covered such important themes (LGBTQ) in a fun yet accurate way. Other themes covered include family dynamics, friendship, growing up, independence. I would recommend to any adult in education, and to pupils Year 6+. For any students with LGBTQ family members, they will feel seen through reading this book. The joy of London Pride is represented brilliantly.

I like the book because it was very interesting and adventurous. A boy in the story called Archie realises his dad is gay but when a rainbow flyer falls out of his pocket, Archie goes to London Pride in search of answers. But does he have to go?

Amazing book.

My name's Archie and I know two things for sure: 1. Mum and dad hate each other a little bit. 2. They are hiding a big secret from me. All Archie wants is his parents to be happy again and stop arguing but when he overhears the secret, his dream is blown apart. But when a colourful flyer falls out of dad's pocket Archie thinks he's found the answer. One problem. This may lay at the end of the rainbow...

I liked it specifically at the start

Really good. I loved it. definetly reading more from this author

I thought it was very good. It has adventure, family and friendship, inclusivity and it was a great time to read it as it was pride month!

I feel that this book explored some very difficult topics like gayness.My favourite character was Bell because I thought she was quite confident, sarcastic and born to be a leader.I would recommend it to a person who is feeling insecure about their sexuality.

This is a very uplifting book dealing with an important topic in a straight forward way. The characters are interesting and the plot, even though rather unbelievable, highly entertaining. I’ll recommend this to years 5 and 6 children.

It was refreshing to read a book that deals with this situation and teaches children about pride and vocabulary associated with being gay. We need more books like this. I'd recommend it to anyone older than 10.

I loved the way the author engages with the reader through the narrative, they have a captured the voice of Archie so well and the humour that runs the through the story at the right moments is well received. It is a story that deals with acceptance and understanding and I loved the way that the author has chosen to bring about the challenges with such a diverse range of characters.

other people will love this book

This is part of my summer reading and was hihly recommended by the children at school who had already read it, as well as those on Twitter that i follow. Archie Albright is a 12 year old boy, he lives with his mum, who recently split from his dad. All Archie knows is that they don't like each other any more and that they are keeping a secret from him. After a particularly embarrassing parents evening where they had a row, Archie runs off and is found by his friends, Seb and Bell. When they all return home with Archie, Mum and Dad are arguing - and the secret is out! But how can Archie make sense of it? He's too embarrassed to ask questions of his mum and dad, and tries to avoid his friends. He asks Oscar, his babysitter who is 17, but his cake based explanation bamboozles Archie! When Archie finds a brightly coloured flyer on the floor of dad's car he and his friends begin a big adventure (without telling their parents). Will it give Archie the answer to his questions? Will they get away with their deceit? Can they get on the train with no money? I really liked the chatty nature of this book. Archie and his friends are great, although I rather like Bell as she's pretty sassy! The ending brings everything to a nice conclusion.

A beautifully written book that had me engaged from the beginning. The characters became like the friends I didn't know I needed. The topic was handled sensitively without being childish. I would say a must have book for any UKS2 classroom.

When Archie finds out a secret about Dad, his world is turned upside down. The family themes of this story are dealt with sensitively but also with humour. It's a really uplifting story of a boy and his relationships with his parents and friends. As I read this, I really grew attached to the character of Archie who tells his story in the first person - making you feel like you are one of his friends journeying alongside him.

It was really good. Moral : Just because you do something different it doesn't make you different it just adds up to the cake

Every bookshelf should have a copy of this! A heartwarming story that focuses on Archie’s emotional upheaval when his dad announces he is gay. As Archie and his dad try to adjust and bring their father/son relationship back on track, the themes of the importance of family, friends, love and acceptance shine through. Aside from the LGBT+ themes, the adventure of Archie and his friends breaking a whole series of rules to get to London Pride makes this a colourful, enjoyable and humorous book that brings important messages to children in an accessible way.

Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow was such a joyous, heart-warming read for Upper KS2 and I absolutely loved it! I think it works as a great way for children to learn about acceptance and the LGBTQ+ community in an accessible way and many parts of the book could be used to start much-needed conversations in classrooms. My favourite characters were Bell and Seb who were Archie's best friends and were supportive and caring throughout, acting as great role models. I also loved how positively the LGBT+ characters were represented rather than being portrayed as 'different'.

Beautiful book, looking for more LGBTQ books like this. Can be very relatable, children will have gone through this and a good way to explain things. Highly recommend.

The Reading Agency

Join our mailing list

Get our newsletters to stay up to date with programme news, resources, news and more.

Back to Top