MORNING SUN IN WUHAN

This children's story is set in Compestine's hometown of Wuhan at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nancy Wu masterfully narrates the experience of 13-year-old Mei as the young teen grieves the loss of her late mother and misses her father, who works virtually nonstop at the hospital, helping patients with a mysterious disease. Wu captures the anger born from fear that Mei's father feels when Mei naïvely visits him at work to ask for medicine for her friend's sick grandmother and then quickly shifts to remorse as he hands her a mask and sends her home. Wu maintains an eerily composed calm as Wuhan is shut down, leaving Mei alone to play computer games and cook food for neighbors. Chapter titles are read in Chinese and English. Listeners will reflect on their own Covid experiences while enjoying Mei's story. S.D.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2022]