THE UNFORGOTTEN COAT

Sarah Coomes’s musical Liverpool accent and her reading rhythms are lulling. These make fine contrast to the plot surprises that sixth-grader Julie encounters when she agrees to be a “Good Guide” to the two Mongolian immigrants who are new to her school. She honors the brothers’ request to “learn themselves ordinary,” teaching them everything from football rules to common lingo. The brothers share with her the amazements of their ancestor Genghis Khan and his Xanadu. Coomes’s convincing first-person narration voices Julie’s enchantment at the boys and their mysterious past and curious present. Listeners hooked by the story’s humor and mystery will feel wonder, then doubt, then compassion and sadness when their full truth is finally revealed. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2011]