The Heaven Shop

by Deborah Ellis

"There is a lion in our village, and it is carrying away our children."

At her father's funeral, Binti's grandmother utters the words that no one in Malawi wants to hear. Binti's father and her mother before him, dies of AIDS. Binti, her sister, and brother are separated and sent to the home of relatives who can barely tolerate their presence. Ostracized by their extended family, the orphans are treated like the lowest servants. With her brother far away and her sister wallowing in her own sorrow, Binti can hardly contain her rage. She, Binti Phirim, was once a child star of a popular radio program. Now she is scraping to survive. Binti always believed she was special, now she is nothing but a common AIDS orphan.

Binti Phiri is not about to give up. Even as she clings to hope that her former life will be restored, she must face a greater challenge. If she and her brother and sister are to reunited, Binti Phiri will have to look outside herself and find a new way to be special.

Compelling and uplifting, The Heaven Shop, is a contemporary novel that puts a very real face on the African AIDS pandemic, which to-date has orphaned more than 11 million African children. Inspired by a young radio performer the author met during her research visit to Malawi, Binti Phiri is a compelling character that readers will never forget.

Genres: Fiction, Africa, Young Adult, Malawi, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Contemporary

186 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Deborah Ellis has achieved international acclaim with her courageous and dramatic books that give Western readers a glimpse into the plight of children in developing countries.

She has won the Governor General's Award, Sweden's Peter Pan Prize, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of California's Middle East Book Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award.

A long-time feminist and anti-war activist, she is best known for The Breadwinner Trilogy, which has been published around the world in seventeen languages, with more than a million dollars in royalties donated to Street Kids International and to Women for Women, an organization that supports health and education projects in Afghanistan. In 2006, Deb was named to the Order of Ontario.

Reviews

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was supposed to have read this as a class assignment in grade 9. Here I am now finishing at 23. Sorry, Mr. Rose.

[Shovelmonkey1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Heaven Shop is not a taxing read considering the fairly difficult subject matter which it encompasses but it is a worthwhile one. The story is set in Malawi, a country where the life expectancy is 54 years of age, where adult literacy is under 75% and where up to 650,000 children were orphaned by AIDS related illnesses (statistics from 2009 UNESCO data). Binti Phiri is a little girl who seems to be special; she has a loving family and lives with her father, a carpenter and her brother and sister both of whom go to good schools. Her mother died of TB, or at least so she believes. She is also one of the stars of a radio show which is broadcast all over Malawi and her voice is heard in thousands of homes and villages. Life is good for Binti until her father becomes ill and it is soon apparent that her mother and her father had AIDS. Binti and her brother and sister Kwasi and Junie are now little more than statistics and unwanted children, tainted by the stigma of HIV and AIDS. Taken in by her fathers family the children are separated and treated as little more than domestic servants. Junie escapes but eventually turns to prostitution and Kwasi is forced to steal food and finds himself in prison in Lilongwe. Binti steals money from her uncle and aunt and runs away to find her Gogo (grandmother) hoping that she will find redemption in Mulanje with at least one family member. As this is a childrens book, the story ends on a happy note with the family reunited, all having learned various life lessons but this is not often the case for the many orphans in Malawi.

Engaging and well written, this book, largely aimed at the younger reader does not shy away from difficult subjects and imparts information in a clear and uncomplicated manner.

[Jen Ozburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book definitely fills a unique niche in children's literature, something written with an international setting (Sub-Saharan Africa), about HIV, and on a lower reading level, in this case about grade 4.5. Also, the author donates all proceeds to UNICEF, which makes sense considering the subject matter.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. The subject is important, yet the writing was rather clunky and the plot too episodic. However, I will still recommend this book since I can't think of any other children's book dealing with AIDS and it's devastation on families and towns in that region of the world. As adults know, the effects on children have been particularly dire and to have an author try to create characters grappling with the epidemic is admirable.

Parents, if your child reads this book, be aware that there is explicit reference to the HIV virus and how to prevent it, as well as implicit reference to how the disease is spread.

Hopefully, this book can lead to meaningful discussions between adults, teens, and children that although uncomfortable are very necessary in our time.

[Nadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, and one that needs to be told. BUT, I struggle with the Deborah Ellis approach inasmuch as I struggle with the "white girl saving the world" approach. It is one thing to tell someone else's story because you believe it needs to be told and to create awareness in the world, but wouldn't it be so much better to empower people to tell their own stories in their own ways so that they don't become this "she did this and then that happened and then she did that" ...

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lion in our village now. It is called AIDS. It is carrying away our children. So I want to say today, in front of all of you, that my son died of AIDS, and I loved him. His wife probably died of AIDS before him, and I loved her, too. And I am tired of burying my children.

[Khadidiatou · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s really awesome to see the devotion in one person , it’s really imprevisible to see a person be mature in a small amount of time just to say that what we live can educate and Binti behavior now really change in a good way and inspire million of young people who have AIDS.The heaven shop book’s protagonist is Binti who’s the reflection of a hardworking and relentless person.The confidence in Binti’s character showed how egocentric she was and now caring which show up her real personality. However , it’s really inspiring to sensitize people without AIDS with this awesome writing against it because it’s reinforce the assumption that everybody can be a fighter in this world and they’re human(AIDS) as them and should not be ignored.


Deborah Ellis was born in Northern Ontario but grew up in farther south , paris ,Ontario and Canada . The fact that she was travelling too much due to her parents work inspired her to be a writer.The power of her books led her to be threatened by a taliban.The protagonist as the author are the youngest girl in their house and has a big sister.The author has been through a lot of things during her travel in Africa and based on the way people treat people who have AIDS , she wrote this book because she thinks that we shouldn’t treat them like outcasts.She knew that a lot of children suffer in Africa because of the non equality and as the protagonist, she was a proficient writer , has a formal education and is a voracious reader as well.They are connected by their experience due to the fact that the protagonist, Deborah didn’t know how life goes but after that she discovered that not everything is rosy.

The protagonist in this book is Binti, thirteen years old girl who’s smart and selfish when she had her father who was somewhat wealthy but not too much just at a point that he can make them go to a fancy school.She works in a radio show where she gets money to help her father that she cares a lot about. She likes to wear dresses because she thinks that pants don’t give a good example for girls and she’s also a good reader and love language arts.She after being egocentric and didn’t care about other has been through a lot of issues which led her to her grandma that mark her life well on the moral plan as effective .

The book is talking about a girl who has been through a lot of problems and who was after the time being mature raised by the time and the circumstances and her selfishness transform in careful person and helper as well as a great personality that even young created her own business.She lost her parents by AIDS. And, the book used the AIDS by a sensitization for young person against the AIDS by showing plays that talk about it and the consequences of it through the characters (death).The protagonist is a lover of her job and do all to be hold in her post as long as she can by doing good and impressioning her boss all the time

.I’ll give it a 4 .I was stuck in the world the author brought me full of discover and I even wanted more because I was kind of looking for the end of junie and the boy that find her and the end of her fiance that left her for such a little thing .I was kind of looking for a resume that describes the ending of all the personnage in there but I must say that I was impressed by the direct word she used to describe that people that have AIDS also has a life and should not be treated like trash or outsider but like the human they are.The thing that captures me the most is the way she(author) describe things like she was living it and the way she includes the person and said to Binti that she wasn’t the only one suffering in life and it has other children around her that lived the same thing.

[Jaclynn (JackieReadsAlot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because it's part of my grade 9 EFL classroom library and I want to make sure I have read all of the books my students are reading. This book definitely fills a unique niche in children's literature, something written with an international setting (Sub-Saharan Africa) about HIV/AIDS and loss. Also, the author donates all proceeds to UNICEF, which makes sense considering the subject matter. Highly recommended.

[Sharon Jean M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great J Fic book - Binti and her siblings live in the time of the AIDS pandemic and try and build coffins in order to give families the respect and decency in death that they deserve. She ends up separated from her siblings after her parents die and goes through learning what is most important in life.

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for elementary school

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

quotes#693957 from my notebook

Sometimes Binti would catch Kwasi drawing in the dirt with a stick. She knew his fingers were hungry for the feel of a pencil against paper.
She had an idea. She fetched her radio script. "Draw on the back of this," she said.
"Are you sure?"
"It's paper. I don't have a pencil, though."
"Don't worry. I'll find something." Kwasi's whole body started to glow with excitement. He got a charred bit of wood from the fire pit. Right away, he started to draw - birds, first, of course, but as the little ones gathered around to watch him, he switched to drawing their faces.
That's one problem solved, Bindi thought. p157
[context: Aids-torn Malawi]

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

After both her parents die of AIDS, Binti, a former young radio personality, and her brothers and sisters are split up amongst resentful and even despicable relatives, and they struggle for day to day survival however they can. Young Western readers will be shocked at what that means for a huge majority of AIDS orphans in Africa. Binti maintains her spirit, and the reunited siblings reopen their father's coffin-making business, a business for which there is ever more need. A good eye-opener for how AIDS has affected children in other parts of the world.

[Lisa Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, easy read. Important topic, as always with D. Ellis. Binti is a character to cheer for, and her relationships with her family are believable and strong. The book would be a good launch pad for research and discussions, so may use as an all-class read. My only issue is that Ellis's books are always told through an omniscient narrator. I get that maybe a young child would be a less reliable narrative, but that personal spin would be a nice change and would bolster more and better dialogue, IMHO. That being said, I love Deborah Ellis.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding story of a young girl in Malawi who goes from riches to rags. The emphasis is on how misunderstandings about AIDS and HIV affect the lives of ordinary people, tragically so. However, though it is a tragedy, the book ends on a happy note, as the characters make the best of their situation. This book would pair well with Allan Stratton's YA novel Chandra's Secret, which is set in a different African country. Highly recommended!!

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 20014 and set in Malawi, Ellis realistically fictionalizes a girl and her life as an orphan due to the AIDS epidemic. It is a story about resiliency, change, and familial love. This is an important book to read for people of all ages as it shows the challenges faced by many young people in this world. In addition, Ellis tells the story in an interesting and engaging way.

[LeAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bintis father runs a brisk business selling coffins until real life catches up with him, and Binti becomes just another AIDS orphan. Ellis traces a typical scenario for one of Africas 12 million orphans. Proceeds go to UNICEF.

[hoe · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this for a school assignment and after reading the first few chapters reading went from feeling like an escape to a chore. I didn't find the book flowed so it was very hard to read. I would not recommend.

[Tabitha Munyaka · Rating 4 out of 5]

we had to read this book in our class i loved it but i dont like the ending

[Beth Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Swaakeesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book. In this novel “The Heaven Shop”, Deborah Ellis has explored the poverty of the African community through exploring the rural life of the Malawian community. Ellis explains how the social stratification in this society contributes towards the disadvantages and advantages faced by each character. The protagonist of this novel, Binti represents herself as a child superstar in her own town Balantyre. This fictional character in this novel is challenged by the cruelty shown to her by the uncle after her father’s depressing death. Binti had to overcome all her hardships created by her relationship with the antagonist. Some of the critical themes that were explored throughout the novel was cruelty, loss of innocence, love and relationship, good and evil and the disadvantages faced by people based on their hierarchical order. For instance, the love that Binti possessed towards her cousins was evident when she helped them in the household although she knew that they were diagnosed by AIDS. The conflict between Kwasi and uncle Mloza makes us think about how the cruelty was shown to other characters. I was disappointed in the middle of the novel because the beloved father, Bambo died of AIDS. But, however the mystery towards his death was a real page turner that took me in the journey of the reality of life. I recommend this book because it helped change my perspective on the existence of life.

[O'Train Disene · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you are hearing about HIV/AIDS, you only hear about its impact to masses of people, but never hear the effect and the impact it has on individuals.

In this thought-provoking book, Deborah really changes that. She shows how individuals get to live in such cruel times, battling this monstrous disease.

Get to look things from a young girl's perspective, who is just like me and you; a girl who likes to be special, a girl who wants to be an important figure in her community, and who has dreams and aspirations of being a superstar.

Binti, Junie and Kwasi are living a hard life in Malawi after both their parents are killed by what community is ignoring and don't want to talk about— AIDS. They have to endure painful things in life, since people don't want anything to do with them because they are suspected that they have AIDS, and that they are soon going to die, just like their parents.

Their father, before he died, he ran a shop. He was manufacturing coffins and selling them to the community. I guess it is true when they say that, they can still your tools and equipments but they can never steal your plan, ambition and your knowledge. Because their aunts and uncles sold their father's business and Binti, Junie and Kwasi were left with nothing but a plan to survive through the poverty of Malawi.

It is amazing and amusing.

[Oriyomi Sovi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart. i did not expect this book to make me cry. I'm reading it, and I felt like I knew what was going to come next , but even though I knew reading each part, it still broke my heart. I wept for Bambo a father just trying to do the nest he can for his kids and trying to shield them from life whilst also giving them space to discover, he didn't want to stop them from go after the things they desired he just wanted them to believe life was so much more. Junie though she annoyed me still brough a tear to my eye, when she got the note from her boyfriend the first thing I thought was "I hope things don't go the way they seem to be heading" and in blink I was reading the choices this poor girl felt compelled to make. My heart broke for Kwasi, a young artist existing with a gift and yet unable to bring the beauty and magic he creates on paper into his real life. And for dear Binti, who seemed to have been kept in the dark for far too long.
The book had heart and soul. The souls of many not just of those who died from AIDs or were living with an HIV+ diagnosis but also for these 3 kids whose lives were flipped upside down and left them completely lost on who they were.

I have so many more details to say, but I don't know how to put it in words

[Cathryn Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was a child when it was brand new in 2004. I was either 10 or 11. I’ve just watched all of It’s A Sin (and am left an emotional wreck from it) and was trying to recall the first time I learnt anything about AIDs. It was this book - I can’t remember much, but for all this time a scene has been in my head about drinking out of the same cup as someone HIV positive and people being absolutely terrified due to stigma despite it being fine. If this book aims to dispel myths about HIV/AIDs, the fact that the lasting impression on a young reader 17 years later is a scene that operates to dispel myths and show the stigma, well that tells me the book did its job. I tried so many search terms to find this book tonight with only that scene in my mind. As soon as I saw the cover I can remember the exact space I sat in my old classroom reading it during silent reading when it was a brand new book. The power of books, huh? I struggle with recommending books I only remember through a child’s lens, but I’d suggest adults reading this and seeing if I’m recalling correctly that it’s a powerful book that addresses stigma well in a way that’s suitable for young readers.

[Farhana Faruq · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great story, and I absolutely love the intentions of the author. She's written this book to bring awareness of those with HIV/AIDS, mainly the kids and how they are treated in society. Although this is a fictional story, EIlis traveled to Malawi and Zambia and talked to the AIDS orphans there and shares how they is no such thing as "other people's children", the worlds children are also our responsibility.

This is about three children who have lost their mother and soon lose their father to AIDS. They're a burden on relatives and end up having to find their own way.

I'm not sure the intended age. But appropriate for teens and up.
I look forward to reading Ellis's other books that cover children in Afghanistan, refugees in Pakistan, the war in Israel and Palestine, etc.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in simple prose authentic to the youth of the narrator, this book is an excellent middle grade exploration of some tough topics. The protagonist, Binti, is flawed but relatable. She experiences trauma, poverty, and loss, but demonstrates her resilience. This book deals with poverty, AIDS, property grabbing, access to education, death, and prostitution, but I wouldn’t hesitate to call it appropriate for the typical middle grade reader. Even as an adult I enjoyed the story and found myself eagerly anticipating in what ways Binti would grow and how she and her family wold overcome the barriers in front of them.

[Hanad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Read this book called The Heaven Shop, by Deborah Ellis. This book is about a young girl call Bint. Bint is a 13 years old girls who goes to a privet girl's school. Bint was a child star of a popular radio program in Malawi. She had a good life. Her father owned a coffee shape called The heaven shop. Her life was good until her parents died of AIDS. Bint now is a AIDS orphan girl. she has nothing in her life. she lost everything. Bint, her brother and sister are separated and sent to uncaring relatives. they treated Bint, her sister and her brother as a lowest servant. bint and her brother and sister couldn't take that abuse anymore. Bint decided to steal money and run away. she stole money from her uncle and until and runt away to Mulange hoping that she will find her grandmother (Gogo). finally, she found her grandmother, her brother and sister. they re opened her father’s shape. This book is one of the best book that I ever read. I gave this book five stars because this book is talking about how HIV/AIDS affected may people a cross in Malawi. I will encourage people to read this book.
By Hanad, Yusuf

[Andrea McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much of this book, set in Malawi, took me back to living in Tanzania and the never-ending challenges people seem to face. It is a soft step into some sensitive issues but will open deeper conversations. My students and I loved The Breadwinner and Parvana's Journey by the same author - I am always grateful to YA authors who open up different parts of the world to the reader. This will be perfect for our Development unit too.

[KossK · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does contain some... mature themes. Such as but not limited to:
Prostitution!
The.. well.. spreading of Aids ;)
Stealing/Abuse/Neglect
Rape.

While a bit of a book for an older audience, it is quite captivating and the ending is a nice closure to the book. I don't really like the fact that some books leave you on a cliffhanger, but this one nicely and evenly fills out all the gaps.

[Anakin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I felt as if this book was a good read as it talks about very prevalent issues today. This book has good main characters and good character development through the book, but the one issue I have with it is how during the second half of the book, the plot events change really quickly. Overall, this book is enjoyable to read but suffers from rushing the plot at the end.

[Cher Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read to raise awareness of the impacts of HIV and AIDS on families and countries in Africa told through the lenses of a young girl.

[Hala Odeh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book speaks about important issues which shows how vital it is to have books to talk about issues like this.