This is an exceptionally good read about two brothers, Chingis and Nergui, from Mongolia and the immigrant's experience. What fun it is to meet these boys and see how silly we can look through the eyes of an outsider. Here, as in his other books, Frank Cottrell Boyce gives us characters who are smart, independent, problem-solving, assertive kids in very realistic circumstances.
Chingis, the older brother, shows how fiercely he can protect his brother, negotiate authority and creatively adapt to what he finds in his new country to support who he is rather than changing (sacrificing) who he is in order to adapt. His extraordinary character and refreshing perspective on most everything eventually wins him the love and admiration of his schoolmates but there's plenty of confusion and humor along the way. By the end, the reader will likely wish Chingis was real and had him as a friend.
94 pages Ages 8-12
Recommended by: Kathy Kleckner, Librarian, Minnesota USA
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Two strangers arrive at a school yard and the children are amazed. They are discovered to be refugees from Mongolia. The two strangers name one girl as their Good Guide. The children develop a friendship as she explains British culture to the two refugee boys from Mongolia.
Recommended by Frank Hodge, HodgePodge Books (Bookseller Emeritus) New York, USA
