THE BOY, THE BIRD AND THE COFFIN MAKER

Narrator Stephanie Foxley does much to dramatize the setting and characters of this story. Alberto is the principal carpenter and coffin maker in the small Italian town of Allora The widower's family died three decades before he discovers a starving, distrusting 10-year-old boy, Tito Bonito, and the colorful bird that follows him. Alberto takes the boy into his home and heart and learns that the boy has an artistic gift. Foxley approximates the youthful tones of Tito and the Italian accent of Alberto, but sometimes her accent seems a bit forced. Still, she effectively portrays the folkloric tone of the story and the contrast between Tito's father's abuse and Alberto's tenderness. S.W. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2018]