Showing 1-4 out of 5 reviews. Previous | Next

• This is an unusual story from Frank Cottrell Boyce. I love his work, even though I'm not always sure kids enjoy them as much as adults. As a librarian, I often recommend the audio versions for family road trips. But this one really resonated with me, especially after reading the afterward. I think it's an important story to tell and maybe it will impact some children as well. I loved the book's layout, but I also loved the audio version as well--his books always have great readers.

  5.00 out of 5

  callielou

• I have read Frank Cottrell Boyce's other three books and I think he's a terrific author. This book is an interesting switch for him. Julie lives a normal existence, thinking mostly about the boy she likes and getting to play with her friend's makeup, until a new boy arrives at school with his brother. They are from Mongolia, and are quite different than anyone she has ever known. They assign her the role of Good Guide, which she willingly takes on. She learns interesting things about Mongolia and hopes to be invited to their home. But she also learns that they are frightened, and doesn't understand why until after they have suddenly disappeared, taken by immigration authorities to be returned to their homeland. The boys are really intriguing characters, and Cottrell Boyce succeeds in demonstrating how people from other cultures can enrich a community.

  4.00 out of 5

  ChristianR

• Terrific story about two Mongolian brothers who relocate to a middle school in London and have the “Good Guide” to show them around and acclimate to new social ways, which also allows the boys to learn about their Nomadic ways and customs. Written in a unique “journal” type with Polaroid photos throughout, and based on the author’s encounter with a real-life Mongolian girl he met during a book talk. Recommended!

  4.00 out of 5

  KHusser

• Treading water in her last term of elementary school, Julie figures she’s learned all there is to learn, when two Mongolian brothers in fur-lined coats (it’s summer) arrive: Chingis and Nergui.Chingis explains to their teacher that little Nergui’s hat must stay on, like a hunting eagle’s hood. Such casual references to wonders far from their Liverpool suburb, documented in the text with eerie Polaroid snapshots, enthrall the children, especially Julie. She’s elated when Chingis appoints her the brothers’ “good guide.” Despite her title, Julie can’t discover where they live; street-smart Chingis foils her attempts to follow them, taking a different route each day. Thwarted curiosity prompts her to research Mongolia online, succumbing to the mystery and fascination of far-off places and people. As her persistence pays off, she awakens to the fear the brothers carry. Reminds me of Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes.

  3.00 out of 5

  cay250

Reviews provided by Librarything.

No reviews here.