The Unforgotten Coat (Candlewick Press, 112 pp., ages 8-12), by Frank Cottrell Boyce, explores ground (the steppes of Mongolia, serious issues of immigration) not often the topic of books for young readers.
The story begins in Liverpool, England, when two boys appear on the school playground. The younger may be dangerous, in need of calming. Older brother Chingis announces that they are nomads, newly arrived from Mongolia. In class the boys sit next to Julie, the book鈥檚 narrator. At the insistence of Chingis, she becomes their Good Guide, their protector to help them navigate this confusing new world.
Illustrated with Polaroids 鈥� some that Julie discovers in Chingis鈥檚 furry coat left abandoned in the lost and found 鈥� the sturdy notebooklike pages of 鈥淭he Unforgotten Coat鈥� work perfectly with the subject matter. A powerful friendship story? An exotic fantasy? Boyce鈥檚 short, funny, touching novel is never what it appears to be. Heartbreaking, compelling, mysterious 鈥� it teems with kid appeal.
