We take a quick peep at Year 7’s summer reading list when we review The Unforgotten Coat.
The Unforgotten Coat – the blurb
“Two refugee brothers from Mongolia are determined to fit in with their Liverpool schoolmates, but bring so much of Mongolia to Bootle that their new friend and guide, Julie, is hard-pressed to know truth from fantasy. Told with the humour, warmth and brilliance of detail which characterises Frank Cottrell Boyce’s writing, readers will be transported from the streets of Liverpool to the steppe of Mongolia.“
Summer reading
My eldest starts High School in September and was given The Unforgotten Coat as part of her summer reading. Always one to take an interest in what she is reading, I snaffled it from her and dived in. It took me an hour being a mere 100 pages including some that were devoted to various Polaroid photographs. Surely you cant fit much in, in just 100 pages?
Last day of school
Except you can. I can see why it has been given to my ex year 6 soon to be year 7 daughter. The first page is all about the summer term of year 6 when “a door was opening and sunshine was pouring in, and any day now you would be allowed out through that door.” It’s evocative to me as an adult some 25 odd years since I experienced that term, so I can only imagine how relative it must feel to a child currently living that.
It’s a great one to use as a common thread for first term High School students (or to use for a book club) as there is so much to talk about. Immigration and the ethics around taking children from their beds at night. The rich culture of Mongolia, a place I bet not too many 11 year olds had heard of. Even Polaroid cameras – do kids even know what they are today? And could they make the Mongolian desert appear by using a sand dune just off the Mersey Rail link?
If your child is currently ploughing through their summer reading list I would love to hear from you. Comment below or tag us on social media with the title of the book. In the meantime if you’re looking for similar reads try The Boy at the back of the Class by Onjali Q Rauf.
