Listen Up to Audiobooks January 2007
By Lisa Von Drasek

To read Lisa Von Drasek's related article Food for Thought click here

The End by Lemony Snicket, read by Tim Curry (HarperChildren's Audio, 2006, ISBN: 0-060-57952-8, 5 CDs, 6 hours, $25.95).

The voice of the author begs us yet again not to listen to this book. He states that if we have heard all of the series so far we have completed listening to 175 chapters of misery. With tongue firmly planted in cheek, we are plunged once again – and for the last time – into the melodramatic world of the Baudelaire orphans, Claus, Violet and Sunny. Fans of the series will delight in the detached, faintly amused tone of award-winning actor Tim Curry. The End begins with the children stranded at sea in a boat with evil Count Olaf. The absurdity of their plight is at its height as many mysteries are revealed and still more remain the same.

Beka Cooper Book 1: Terrier by Tamora Pierce, read by Susan Denaker (Listening Library, 2006, ISBN: 0-739-33718-1, 12 CDs, 15 hours, 3 minutes, $54.00).

In this compelling prequel to the world of Alanna: The First Adventure, Pierce takes us back hundreds of years in time to a place where a young girl is a trainee, or "puppy," in the league of veteran Provost's Guards known as the Dogs. Pierce draws us into the unique language and intrigue of this society by having us see it through Rebeka Cooper's eyes. Denaker voices Beka perfectly, inflecting her eagerness to do well in her new job as well as accenting the other characters, clearly delineating their social class and character.

The Misadventures of Maude March: Or Trouble Rides a Fast Horse by Audrey Couloumbis, read by Lee Adams (Listening Library, 2006, ISBN: 0-739-33545-6, 7 CDs, 8 hours, 12 minutes, $45.00).

This book is a fast-paced, page-turning (or CD-listening, in this case) adventure story of the Old West with warts and all. The protagonist and narrator is 11-year-old Sally who, along with her sister Maude, is orphaned for a second time. Rather than depend on what turns out to be the unkindness of strangers, the sisters take custody of themselves and the adventures begin. Sally soon learns that the escapist dime-store novels that she loves bear very little resemblance to reality. This message is driven home when her very own sister, the proper, rule-abiding Maude, is transformed by newspaper reports into "Mad Maude March," horse thief and fugitive bank robber. Lee Adams, a skillful storyteller, captures our imagination as she expertly pronounces the historic grammar and vernacular of the wild frontier.

To read Lisa Von Drasek's related article Food for Thought click here

Lisa Von Drasek is Children's Librarian at the Bank Street College of Education in New York, NY.

January, 2007, Vol.37, No.4